Dear Koichan
by wicherwill
Summary: Sakura has always been particularly adept at picking out matches...and when she is in a little cash squeeze, it might just come to her rescue. But can she figure out her own tangled love life? FINI w EPILOGUE
1. Prologue

"I need," Kinomoto Sakura declared with a vehement expression at the bills on the table, "a job." Her best friend and roommate, Daidouji Tomoyo, hurried over to the couch.

"Sakura, I told you. If you need money, 'kaa-san is more than willing to take you on!" Sakura shook her head and sighed.

"Tomoyo," she took her friend's hands in hers, "try and understand my point of view, ne? With onii-chan off to university, and 'tou-san at the dig, do you know how difficult it was to convince them to let me be here, on my own? I need to gain my own independence, and I need to prove to both of them that they don't need to worry about me 24/7. Don't you understand, what would they think if I went to Sonomi-okaa-san for help?" her friend Tomoyo smiled.

"I understand, just give me some time."

"Of course, spoiled brats don't need to worry about money," Sakura shot back, half-joking. The other half was genuinely worried; Tomoyo was already paying three-fifths of all the bills, with her half-inheritance at the age of 21. But still, rental fees for their apartment building very close to Hatakeyama University were high, and Sakura's only source of income, stuffing papers for the school, had recently stopped when the school had gone tech. 

Sakura ducked the pillow flying her way and pulled out a stack of newspapers.

"And since you assured me time and again that you had absolutely nothing to do all weekend, you are volunteered to help me find something." Tomoyo grinned and grabbed a paper and a marker.

"Aye aye, captain!" They were about to start when there was a knock on the door. Seconds later, Hiiragizawa Eriol and Li Syaoran walked into the living room.

"What are you ladies doing?" Eriol looked at the massive pile of newspapers with misgivings, expecting it to fall over any minute now. As it was,

"Hoe! Arigato, Syaoran-kun," Sakura grabbed the top few papers from where the brown-haired man was sprawled, trying to prevent them from falling. He fixed her with a glare.

"We just came to drop off the groceries. Hiiragizawa and I need to get going to the Irie Library to work on term essays." Sakura pushed her face close to him, their noses almost touching.

"E-ri-o-l," she said, accentuating the syllables, "and the Irie Library? That's reserved for the Masters students!" Syaoran shrugged and made a face as Eriol greeted his girlfriend enthusiastically.

"Syaoran here needs it to access the Neuro Room," he said, using the popular term for the vividly coloured lab, "so that I can go over the latest research on the effects of cardiac strokes on the frontal lobes. And Eriol here…Oi! Get a room!"

"Ota-sensei recommended it to me to find the works of Gregory D. Englebreight on laws regarding the capital offences connected with basic civil disobedience infringements over political turmoil," he looked at the two women, "I take it you understood zilch." Tomoyo raised an eyebrow.

"Fashion design," she pointed to Sakura, "journalism. Now, out, before we get headaches." Sakura nodded, the swirls in her eyes practically visible. Syaoran massaged his temples.

"Oh, and before I forget, hai." He opened his bag and an orange blur shot out, "Kami-sama, never give me that thing again." The said 'thing' glared at the boy.

"And I'd have clobbered ya if we hadn't been in sucha crowded place!" 

"Kero-chan, go to your room." Tomoyo waved him away, "And you too. Shoo!" Syaoran turned to go, rather hastily, when Sakura called out.

"Syaoran, the bill for the groceries…" Syaoran winced and pulled out a slip of paper. Sakura took it, her face registering shock when she looked at the total. She hastily tried to cover it up.

"My, we do eat a lot! Just give me a second to get my pocketbook…" Syaoran took the slip from her.

"Um…it came up free. The Visa magic moment or something," Eriol deadpanned. Sakura looked up, her eyes slightly glassy.

"Again?" Syaoran looked down.

"Sakura, just…I'll pay, I got money from Saburo, and you know how much I hate him…" he looked even more guilty, "…again…" Sakura looked up at him.

"No, I will pay!" she stamped her foot a little for emphasis. Tomoyo stopped her as she went to get her purse.

"Wait, Sakura, I'll…go get your purse." Tomoyo walked into the room, and came out a little while later. Sakura opened her purse, and took out a small stack of bills. She looked at them confusedly.

"Did I have this money in there before?" Tomoyo nodded furiously.

"Don't you remember the bonus that the school offered you?" Sakura looked confused for a second, then smiled.

"Oh, of course!" she handed the stack over to Syaoran, "Hai!" Syaoran took it, uncomfortable.

"Well, I guess…I guess I'd better leave," he marched out the door. Sakura and Tomoyo sat there, listening until the two sets of footsteps faded into nothing. Tomoyo turned to Sakura, a serious look in her face.

"Sakura, I know this is slightly rude, but…what _is_ your state of finances?" A single tear trailed down Sakura's cheek as she pulled out her banking statement from her purse. Tomoyo unfolded it silently. There, in red, was written the truth. 

"It's…over two hundred thousand yen!" Sakura burst out into tears and buried her face into Tomoyo's lap. Tomoyo looked at the bill for ¥207,477.11 and sighed.

"Sakura…zettai daijoubu. Like always." Tomoyo sang softly under her breath, noting the huge circles under Sakura's eyes. Within minutes, the twenty-one year old girl was sleeping like a baby. Tomoyo looked worried at her sleeping form.

"I think…"

~*~

AN: Well, this seems cool! Now we have a base, we can get on with plot…so, to wrap it up:

- The foursome are all attended the same university, a private university by the name above

- Eriol is becoming a lawyer, Syaoran a doctor, Tomoyo a fashion designer, and Sakura a journalist.

- Sakura is in debt. I'm sorry, I'm not Japanese and don't know what debt is really like there, but from some quick research, you could expect to pay about ¥60,000 in apartment rent fees per month, and that means Sakura pays ¥24,000, plus food, books, electricity, etc, I think that amount is nice. In today's terms, that's about €1,521, $1756 (US), £1055, $2706 (Canada) and Rs.81408/-. Anything else?

Never fear, I haven't abandoned tPoT, it's nearly finished!

Please review!

wicherwill ^_^


	2. Chapter One

Sakura ran down the college road, her slightly above shoulder length auburn locks streaming behind her. She grabbed open the door to her classroom and sank onto the floor, not gazing at the clock.

"Did…did I make it?" A cheery voice spoke up from the middle of the rafters.

"Hai! But just. Hayaku, sensei is coming!" Sakura grabbed her bags and ran two by two up the auditorium seats in the classroom. As she sat down, both Syaoran and Eriol looked at her. The tips of Syaoran's mouth seemed to be fighting a smile, and Eriol was also smiling furiously through his eyes…Sakura knew that they were remembering days past in Tomoeda Elementary School.

She smiled to herself as she turned to the three girls sitting next to her, Yanagizawa Naoko, Ii Ume, and Ohka Gemmei. The cheery voice, Ume, sighed as she glanced upwards.

"Sakura, get over it and admit Li likes you-"

"-yeah, and he's liked you ever since sixth grade in Tomoeda Elementary-"

"-really? In any case, you are so kawaii!"

"-like Tomoyo always says, and it's true-"

"Ume, Naoko, you are cute too…" Ume had ear-length black hair, ordinary brown eyes, and a habit of never betraying much emotion in her face from her former-geisha mother. However, if someone were to concentrate on her 'ordinary' brown eyes for a while, they would notice that those eyes spoke volumes. Sakura was about to continue when the teacher came in. 

"Welcome," he droned, "to the second semester of Formal Writing. I hope to get to know each and every one of you, and to teach you the nuances of writing." The four girls rolled their eyes and began to mouth the words to the teacher's speech.

"Writing is an important aspect of all the majors you have selected, and through this course you will be able to fully succeed in the field of your choosing…"

~*~

Sakura glanced around the field, looking for a spot to sit down. She had just about chosen a spot when a familiar face appeared in her vision.

"Rika! I thought," she glanced at her friend's round belly, "I thought you were on maternity leave." Her friend laughed.

"I was, when a very excited Chiharu ordered me to 'stay in a place where I can _find_ you 'coz Rika is the _master_ of hiding in plain sight.' I want to find her and leave, so help me." She exaggerated the italics in Chiharu style. Sakura turned to her friends.

"I'm sure I've mentioned Sasaki-Terada Rika? Rika, these are my two journalist geeks, Ume and Gemmei." 

"Sakura-chan!" Sakura looked towards the hill in the centre of the field, where Tomoyo was waving along with everyone else. A minute later, all of them, including the due Rika, were on top, where Chiharu was waiting with Naoko.

"I just _had_ to wait until you were all here, 'coz my life has just taken a _huge_ turn for the better!" Chiharu paused dramatically, "I am…engaged!" The Tomoeda five-some all squealed together, and the other four just looked on, amused. That is, until Yamazaki came behind them and started talking very enthusiastically to a hooked Syaoran and a slightly suspicious Ume.

"-of course I know what I'm talking about! Before I could ask Chiharu, I had to make sure that the Engagement Act of 1893 had been repealed, since I'm moving to England. Of course, Eriol here could tell you a little bit about that…"

"You see for a while after the act was passed, couples who wanted to get engaged and move to England had to go out on a boat-"

"-during the windiest day of the month-"

"-and catch a lobster-"

"-with a net made by the girl-"

"-and then cook it over a fire-"

"-and eat it together, and save the claw-"

"-which would be the centrepiece for a table at the wedding, but-"

"-do you know how difficult it is to find lobsters in England?-"

"-and then the guests at that table would run away-"

"And Chiharu is allergic to lobsters, so I had to make sure it was repealed." Ume was about to nod slightly when Gemmei spoke up.

"Hey, I know you! Sakura was telling me about you! Whenever you started going on like that, Chiharu would come and-"

"Lies, lies, ALL LIES!" the four of them face faulted as Chiharu bopped Yamazaki on the head, then turned around and picked up the conversation exactly where she had left it off. Sakura giggled, Chiharu's excitement getting to her. You could practically _see_ the italics in the air.

"-and then I said, Sakura _has_ to be the principal bridesmaid – to which Yamazaki started talking about the plight of bridesmaids during the Edo era – but I said she _had_ to be it 'coz if it weren't for her, I'd have _never_ asked Yamazaki out in the first place. Don't you think so?" Naoko chimed in.

"Ne, Sakura definitely pinned that one down!"

"Hai, you're so good at this relationship stuff. She even got Eriol and I together. Of course, there is one that she hasn't been able to guess…" Sakura sweatdropped as _all_ of her girlfriends, Ume and Gemmei included, started laughing.

"H-hoe?!"

~*~

"Yuhara-sensei asked me to see her after hours…am I in trouble?" Sakura was walking with her friends, worry etched on her face. Gemmei shook her head.

"Sakura, you couldn't get in trouble if you tried," Ume nodded, and the two of them cackled. Gemmei stopped laughing abruptly when they passed a boy and a girl making out. Ume noticed immediately and clenched her fists.

"Ignore him, ignore him," she whispered under her breath. As soon as they were behind a tree, Gemmei stopped, tears welling up in her eyes. As Ume was about to say something, she said softly,

"It's all cause I'm fat." Sakura shook her head vigorously. Gemmei had gorgeous features: her hazel, slightly larger-than-normal eyes inherited from her Irish father were set in a blemish free face that was always in a happy mood. In fact, she would be a model, if it weren't for her chubbiness.

"Gemmei, stop crying and look at me. Look at me," the girl hiccupped, staring into the jade eyes of her friend, "Any guy who is stupid enough to dump you over your body is a total jerk, you hear me? You are beautiful, inside _and_ out, and you don't need any guy who doesn't see that." Gemmei nodded, wiping away the remaining tears. Ume gazed at her friend in wonder.

"Sakura, everyone is absolutely right. You work wonders in relationships!" Sakura smiled.

"What did I do here? All I did was show her what's right under her nose." Gemmei made a face and punched her on her shoulder.

"Well, this is Yuhara-sensei's classroom. Ganbatenai, although I'm positive you don't need it. No, really. Go!" Sakura walked up the marble steps of the Journalism Wing and opened the door. 

"Ah, Kinomoto. Glad you could make it." All the students – except for those who got on her legendary patience or lost her easily gained trust, liked slim, spry Yuhara-sensei. Sakura smiled back.

"I…I'm not in trouble, am I?" Yuhara laughed, and it echoed down the corridor.

"Far from it, Kinomoto," she began walking briskly down to her room, and Sakura ran a bit to catch up. "I called you back because, simply put, you are the most brilliant student in my entire class." Sakura flushed.

"A-arigato gozimasu."

"Don't. Compliments should be given when deserved. You've challenged me as a teacher throughout your years, and I've become a better teacher from it…and I thought it was time to repay the favour." By now, they had reached her office. She snapped her briefcase open and pulled out a section of the newspaper.

"The Herald is a newspaper that was started by students from Hatakeyama. It's grown to now the most popular newspaper around, and it's still almost entirely student-run. With the departure of one of the authors, they have a loose double column open. Would you like it?" Sakura opened her mouth to speak when Yuhara slammed her briefcase down and looked her squarely in the eye. "It pays, Kinomoto, a nice base figure and generous benefits if you pull in readers. If I'm not mistaken – which I rarely am, mind you – you could use the money." Sakura found her voice.

"How…how would you know?" Yuhara laughed.

"I wasn't a student that long ago. I know that look of a debt-ridden student – overly cheerful in every respect. Although, with you, it was more like overly overly cheerful. Now, if I could just have you fill out this form, I have a letter of recommendation written out. If you hurry, then we can have this in today's post." She put down a pen and a form in front of the stunned girl. A smile slowly broke out over her face as she started filling in the questions.

As teacher and student watched the university post go out, Sakura sighed.

"But what should I write about?" Yuhara turned to the courtyard.

"My advice is to write about something that you're good at, and that will interest readers. Oh my, look at them!" She pointed to a couple wandering back to the dorms and looked meaningfully at her. Sakura smiled.

"How about…Dear Koi-chan?" Her teacher nodded, a serious look on her face that was given away by her twinkling eyes.

"Well, with any luck, I should see many more couples roaming these grounds. And for the cherry on top…" she scribbled a number with a red pen and pushed it towards Sakura, who grabbed it. 

"You'll be getting a _huge_ present this year!" she waved goodbye and ran down the steps, nearly running into someone.

"Oh, gomen, Syaoran-kun."

"You seem happy."

"I got myself a job!" Syaoran looked at his watch.

"Well, if we hurry a bit we can make it to the ice-cream store before it closes…" the pair of them shot across the courtyard. Yuhara watched from the window.

"Right under your nose!"

~*~

"Double Chocolate Chip with chocolate syrup and chocolate sprinkles. In a chocolate wafer cone, please." The lady didn't even raise an eyebrow, just said, "Li's here again" and turned to Sakura, who was eyeing the towering mass of, well, chocolate, convinced it would fall any second.

"Uh…I'll have a strawberry with a cherry and those cute heart sprinkles." Syaoran paid and found a table by the window. After a few minutes of the sound of ice cream being devoured, he spoke up.

"So, what's this new job?"

"Oh, I'm going to wr-" Sakura paused; if she was using a pseudonym, then it wouldn't be wise to give out her identity. "I'm going to help some people with writing." It was technically true; she was going to be helping people – with her writing. Syaoran nodded.

"Always good," he put his head closer to the table, "You have ice cream on your nose." Sakura swiped the said nose.

"Better?"

"No, it's still there…" he picked up his napkin and carefully wiped it off. Sakura felt her face heat up as she realized what she was doing. _I'm at an ice cream store – WITH SYAORAN!_ Her mind suddenly clammed up as he moved back, satisfied.

"It's gone."

"Ah…g-good. Noses are ba- I mean, ice cream on noses are bad. Anything on noses is bad. Have you ever tried those nose pore removal things?" Sakura waited for a second before realizing what she had just said.

"I mean-"

"Actually, I have," Sakura stared at him quizzically, and he flushed a bit as he tried to explain, "because one day Xiefa-san was using them and she needed a test tube and it's not like I use them myself daily…" he trailed off, unsure of his original point and radiating enough heat that he was sure he saw the thermostat go up. The two of them stood up at the same time.

"I-I have to leave now!" They both nodded furiously and made to exit. Sakura reached there first, and a second later a hand closed upon her…they sprang apart, blushing. Syaoran was the first to recover, and he held the door open.

"A-arigato…"

~*~

"I just stood there like an idiot and now he probably thinks I'm one tooooo!" Sakura trailed off into her pillow, relating the events of the evening to her friend. Tomoyo clucked sympathetically.

"Sakura, I'm sure that he was just as embarrassed."

"No he wasn't. *I* am the idiot who likes him, not the other way around! My life," proclaimed the Tare Panda clothed girl, "is over." Tomoyo raised one delicate eyebrow, at both her friend and her myopic life.

"Sakura, I'll try once more…I'm telling you, Syaoran likes you." Sakura smiled sarcastically.

"Right, and I'm about to confess that I'm the author of a love column. Get real, Tomo-" Sakura broke off, "Great, I can't even be sarcastic without messing up." Tomoyo looked interested.

"A love column?"

"Yeah, Yuhara-sensei offered me the job, and it pays money, so I took it."

"Do you have anything?"

"Well, I posted basically a double-column plea for letters last Friday, which was…two days ago, I think. I don't know if I actually got anything yet, though…"

"Check! We've got the whole weekend to ourselves!" Sakura bounced up from the swath of blankets on the sofa-bed and nodded.

"No boys, no one else but the two of us! And especially no Kero! Mou, I feel sorry for Syaoran and Eriol…" she walked into her room.

"A-CHOO!" Three voices sneezed in remarkable sync one street over and across. 

 A few seconds later, Sakura shrieked. Tomoyo came running.

"Nani?!" Sakura pointed at the screen.

"Twenty four of them! Look! Count them! Savour them!"

"Open them!" Tomoyo dragged a chair over as she opened the first one.

From: Gemmei gemgem2424@hatakeyama.edu

To: Koi-chan koi_chan@hatakeyama.edu

"It's from Gemmei!"

Dear Koi-chan,

I'm a college student, and overweight. Do you have any suggestions for places to go so that I can lose weight and get a date?!

Ohka Gemmei

Tomoyo looked at Sakura.

"Just _how_ desperate was this ad?" Sakura sweat dropped.

"Okay, so I made it a bit broad. But loosing weight is definitely under the 'Relationships' category." She poised her fingers over the keyboard.

From: Koi-chan koi_chan@hatakeyama.edu

To: Gemmei gemgem2424@hatakeyama.edu

Gemmei-

How dare you think of loosing weight to snag a guy? Feel proud of your body and find someone who will love you unconditionally!

Koi-chan

Tomoyo shook her head slightly, "You can't give this away. Add something a bit less…Sakura-ish." Sakura paused, then typed,

(P.S. I'd have to say a 'twice-daily salad' diet and bicycling)

Tomoyo nodded approval, "Much better."

The two girls worked steadily through the rest of the letters, exchanging banter all the way through.

"Kami-sama, Naoko likes _him_?!"

"Oh dear, Eri-san is going to be one happy girl! She's been talking about how she was afraid he was afraid of commitment for ages now!"

They finished quickly and Sakura stretched out. Saving a copy of a few letters – Gemmei's included – she e-mailed them to the editor of The Herald.

"Those will go into the paper under 'Dear Koi-chan'." Tomoyo voiced approval, and her stomach voiced hungry. Giggling, the two girls made their way to the Pancake House down the street, pyjamas and all.

~*~

Version 1.0: Changed title from _Dear Madame Amour_ to _Dear Koi-chan_, which is Japanese for love and makes more sense to me.

AN: So, how'd I do how'd I do how'd I do how'd I do? I made it all long and stuff, and at the time of publishing, ff.net isn't working for me. But I finished this, and I know exactly how the ending for tPoT goes. 

**Q**: Um…If they are all taking different majors, why are they in the same class?

**A**: Writing is important for a lawyer and a doctor…right?

**Q**: Japanese Irish?

**A**: Japanese Irish people look really cool. 

**Q**: Excuse me, what kind of person has only two friends at college?

**A**: Sue me, but I didn't want to have to look up names for fifteen friends and come up with personalities. Although I still have to fully develop personalities for the two I have anyway.

**Q**: You're telling me that they _all_ got into the same college?

**A**: It's a special college that private school people get into. In any case, Chiharu and Yamazaki don't go there, and Rika took a year off and now is on maternity leave. How you'd know that, I have no idea. And Naoko is becoming an author. Um…*furiously redoes the beginning* and now she is in the first classroom scene. 

Oh, and I dearly hope Gemmei and Ume aren't turning into Mary Sues. I worked hard at that (Gemmei is overweight, and Ume doesn't have perfect features at all). Tell me if they appear too perfect, and I'll see if I can do anything.

Until then,

                wicherwill ^_^


	3. Chapter Two

**Dear Koi-chan **

_By wicherwill _

_Edited by Miss Qui Chen_

**Disclaimer**: With all the junk floating out there, I highly doubt Nelvana is going to swoop down on me from their almighty Throne of Indescribable Evil. Not to be confused with Eriol's Throne of Evil. But just in case, I don't own any of this. My drawings are horrible. 

**Chapter Three **

Sakura grabbed the issue of the Herald and started flipping through the pages. When she came to the page with her article, she paused. Taking up her cup of tea in her left hand, she picked up the paper with her right. Aware that Tomoyo was standing in the doorway, waiting for the verdict, she sped up.

Quickly scanning the article, she blushed when she noticed that someone had changed the names of the senders, and noted that Yuhara-sensei had written 'In the future, please refrain from using your real name'. The rest of the article went smoothly, and it filled up the space required. 

Taking a deep breath, she turned the page to the editor's section, where the editor of the Herald would go over events, the paper, and new articles. Her eyes picked up the word 'Koi' right away, and she read aloud to Tomoyo, 

"_Dear Koi-chan_ is the newest article that this newspaper has to offer. You write in your problems with love and our resident Dr. Love will answer them – quite promptly, I might add. 

"_Dear Koi-chan_ has already met with favourable reviews. Not two hours after its anonymous author mailed me her letters, I received mail from readers who asked whether the Herald had spies trailing them – the replies seemed to be exactly what they needed! 

"It's unanimous here at the Herald – _Dear Koi-chan is a hit, and it's definitely staying." _

Sakura put down the paper and her tea. Almost in sync, the two girls squealed in delight. 

"Wai wai wai!" Sakura jumped up and bounced around the room, her short pigtails hitting her shoulder repeatedly. She ran over to the door when the doorbell rang and immediately hugged the person standing outside. That is, until a familiar scent of peppermint enveloped her.

"When my fortune said I'd be in a squeeze today, I didn't know it was so literal…" The deep and familiar voice jolted Sakura, and she let go with a squeak. 

"Syaoran! Oh… gomen nasai!" Her face heated up.

 "Are you okay?" 

"Hai! Of course! Why are you here?" 

"T-to pick you guys up. Go to school. Early, you. I mean, you're early." 

Sakura felt herself heat up at the cute little grin on his face.  "Tomoyo-" Sakura shook her head. "I'll go get. Her. I mean, I'll go get Tomoyo." She smiled as she walked backwards towards the door.

"Oi! Watch… out." Sakura winced as she tripped over an umbrella stand and went sprawling. 

"Daijoubu!" Sakura smiled and turned around. _Baka, that really placed you on The Top Then Most Graceful, she berated herself._

~*~ 

Sakura bounded up the stairs of the Journalism Wing, still happy over the recent events. 

"Kinomoto! Very good job." 

Sakura smiled at her teacher. "Arigato." Her eyes immediately flew towards the envelope that her teacher was holding, and she frowned.

"The editor was so impressed that he decided to pay you right away. Better keep that trust, ne?"

Sakura took the envelope and pulled out the check. 

"Hey! Kinomoto! You're suffocating me!" For Sakura had launched herself on her teacher, joyous about the amount written down. 

She walked out, content. Two people stood at the bottom, tapping their feet. Gemmei spoke first. 

"Who ran off after class without telling us?" 

"And why is she so damn genki?" 

Sakura put an arm around each of her friends and starting walking off campus. 

"Who cares? Let's go out somewhere, and it's on me!" 

Gemmei and Ume looked at each other. 

"Sakura," began Ume, "no offence or anything, but you weren't exactly in the position to pay anything like a week ago…" 

"And now you are…you haven't stolen anything, have you?" 

Sakura laughed.  "I just got myself a job in writing, and it pays very well. I'm financially secured!" 

Gemmei and Ume clapped their hands. "Oh, I just remembered…" Ume stopped. "I'm dancing with my mother and a few other retired geishas and their daughters. Would you two like to come? I've been practicing a while, and it's a really nice piece…and the place we perform at is a restored tea house, with a door that opens into a modest hall with a small stage and these gorgeous gardens in the back with tonnes of trees and flowers and-" 

"Of course we'll come!" 

Ume nodded slowly. For those who knew her, like Sakura and Gemmei, that was her equivalent of a smile. 

"Arigato. Tonight, seven." 

"No problem." 

~*~ 

Sakura sat down at her computer, dragged up her started homework assignments and began typing. A page or two later, she noticed that her e-mail icon was flashing. Clicking on it, her eyes widened. 

Ninety-six emails. And it was only Wednesday. 

Saving her work, she stared at them. There was no way in the world she'd be able to finish all of these! The joy and flattery that she had felt before vanished. Resting her head in her hands, Sakura moaned. 

 "Hey, kiddo, what's wrong?" 

Sakura looked up to see Kero, looking worried. 

"Look at all these e-mails! I'll never be able to answer all of them!" 

Kero clicked and opened the first one. "I see…" He looked thoughtful, and Sakura had to stifle a laugh. When you've seen Kero looking serious, you don't think of anything else. Suddenly he snapped… uh… rubbed his paws together. 

"I got it!" He floated two Cards from the deck in front of him: Hope and Mirror. Taking Hope, he tapped it.  "Hey, give me your heart." And true to his word, a small red heart with wings appeared in his hand. 

Next, he went to Mirror. "I need a mould." Mirror shimmered, and a replica of her hands appeared. Kero took the heart and cracked it, like and egg, over them. A gooey pink liquid absorbed into the hands, and they cracked their knuckles. Without a word (how could they – they're hands) they hovered over the keyboard, and began typing answers to the e-mails. Kero nodded his approval. 

"You needn't worry that they won't do a good job. The same reason, the same knack of things that Clow had, is the Hope Card. Of course," he reminisced, "it took Clow over two hundred years to figure out that Yue's feelings for him were… ah… more than platonic. You, on the other hand, picked it out within an hour, and no one even gave you any clues. It's your knack, and that's where most of your magic comes from – the Cards' love for you. Hey, I made a speech!" Kero flew out of the room, doing loop-de-loops. 

Sakura shook her head.  "Ano…hands-san…? Oh, never mind, homework can wait." Sakura turned around and came face to face with Tomoyo. 

 "…Wow." 

 "Cool, isn't it?" 

"Put some cute little gloves on them… with a few bows and tucks…" 

Sakura sweat dropped. "Hey, are you free tonight? Want to come with me to Ume's dance?" 

Tomoyo clapped her hands. "Oh, I can put you in my latest kimono!" She ran out of the room just as the phone rang.

Sakura looked apprehensive as she picked up the phone.  "Moshi moshi, Kinomoto and Daidouji." 

"It's me, Syaoran." 

Sakura blushed, thankful he couldn't see her.  "Konbanwa, Syaoran."

"So, Eriol and I were getting bored, and we were wondering if you were doing anything for the long weekend of studying hell…" 

"Actually, tonight we're going to a traditional dance that Ume… Ii Ume? Yes, the one with brown hair and brown eyes. Yes, her mom used to be a geisha, and so a bunch of them do a dance every year, and she decided to actually perform this year… really? You'll come?"

Tomoyo stuck her head near the phone.  "I have two yukatas for the two of you! Get over here now!"

~*~

"Hey, where's Sakura?" 

"Syaoran, she's just changing in the other room… unless you want to join her, of course?" Tomoyo didn't wait for an answer, dumping bundles of clothing into the arms of both men. "Change in here, I need to help Sakura get ready, and get ready myself."  

~*~ 

"Man, they take forever…" Eriol looked at his watch for what had to be the fortieth time. 

"No, it's Daidouji that takes forever." 

Eriol nodded. "Of course. Although from the sound of it, it seems like she's getting Sakura ready ("Hey! What's that stuff? Didn't you already put stuff on my eyes?"). Shall we check on them, dear descendent?" 

"Shaddup." 

"It's the perfect set up. She's asked you on a date, so you have to ask her!" 

"It's not a date. We're platonic. She doesn't like me." 

"Oh, and the moon is made of green cheese." 

"How would you know, have you been there?" 

There was a shimmering, and he disappeared. 

"Show off." 

When he arrived a moment later, he shook his head. 

"Nope, definitely not cheese." 

Syaoran grunted.

"And… ta-daa…" Kero came out of the room, looking extremely bored and holding up a red curtain, "Presenting the Belles of Tomoeda. Here's… Daidouji Tomoyo. Voila." 

Syaoran could practically see Eriol's jaw drop to the floor when Tomoyo came out in her red-gold concoction, hair done up and wisps flying everywhere. He nudged him in the side. 

 "Take a picture, she'll realize it's _you_ pretty soon." 

Eriol glared at him and looked at her. "You look beautiful." 

Tomoyo nodded in thanks, pulling out a video camera from her minuscule bag.  "Look, look at her!"

When Sakura came out of the curtain (which collapsed, breathing heavily), Syaoran's jaw _did hit the ground. _

She was wearing a navy blue under robe, with a shimmering over robe upon which were embroidered hundreds of little silver dots that started clumped together at the bottom and then spread out as one travelled up. Her obi was a blue-silver silk, and her hair was done up into two little buns. 

Tomoyo smiled. 

"You know, I could put her in a mud brown sack and he'd sit there for an hour describing the wonders of the outfit. Come on, we'll be late if we don't hurry!" 

Syaoran shyly put out his hand, and Sakura accepted, blushing heavily. 

"And," added Eriol, "we have to go through the one person door pretty soon, so they'll have to let go of each other anyhow."

~*~ 

Sakura, kneeling on the mats, clapped furiously. When Ume came down from the stage and approached them, she ran over to her friend (Thankfully, platform sandals had been abandoned at the door). 

"Wai! Honto sugoi! Ume, you were really good!" 

The girl nodded slowly and deeply, acknowledging the praise.  "Your kind remarks mean a lot to my personal gratification, but your support lifts my soul." She turned when an older woman called her over. Bowing, she excused herself. 

Sakura looked puzzled at her, until Syaoran came over and whispered in her ear,  "She's a geisha for the night. She can't take your praise, or acknowledge the bond between the two of you." Sakura smiled.

"Seems like fun, right? I'd like to try being a geisha for a day."

"It's a lot of work…daughters of geishas generally start training as young as three in traditional entertainment. Even so, it takes them most of their childhood and adolescent life to go from an apprentice to a full geisha, even with the help of an accomplished older sister."

"Wow, you know a lot about geishas!" 

Syaoran turned the other way, flushing at the comment. "Mother. She trained as a geisha, but had to drop out when she nearly killed a customer due to her lack of magical training. He made a snide remark, and his tea erupted in his face.

"Oh. What happened then?" 

"The customer trained her, fell in love with her, married her." 

Sakura smiled teasingly.  "I see. And where is he now?" Syaoran's face lost the playful grin. 

"He died when I was five." 

Sakura lost her nerve at her tactlessness. "Oh…I'm sorry." 

"Don't be. You didn't do it."

She backed away at the harsh tone in his voice. "I… I think I'll go outside." 

Sakura walked into the quiet backyard, feeling guilty. Why hadn't she remembered that Syaoran's father was dead? That he had died in the view of his only son? She was _sure_ that he had mentioned it at some point; if not, then Meiling had. 

Preoccupied in her musings, she didn't notice her visitors until she heard a sharp cry followed by the sound of breaking glass. Walking as fast as her kimono and shoes could take her, Sakura turned the corner, where she saw Ume surrounded by a gang of guys. 

"Hey, kireii. How much for a night?" The first one leant back, his lackeys leering at the impressive complete sentence.

 "I… I don't know what you're talking about." Ume appeared scared, and Sakura could see she had good reason. Small and lithe at only 152 centimetres, any one of the imposing men could easily hurt her. 

 "Oh, come on. Like we don't know what a geisha does." A second black clad figure stepped out of the darkness. "Tell me, why do you need to go to a geisha school? How much teaching does it take to learn to sleep with someone?"

 "I… geishas aren't prostitutes. We are refined women, trained in the classical arts of," she gulped, her voice becoming weaker with every syllable, "dancing, singing, and the tea ceremony. Geishas are also well versed in the shamisen, a traditional Japanese guitar that - _get away from me!_" 

Sakura gasped as the man ignored her and pulled her towards him. Finding a fist sized rock, she chucked it as hard as she could at his back. It appeared to work, as he dropped Ume. Sakura gulped when he turned around to face her. 

 "Leave her alone! I'm warning you, I'm trained in aikido!" Sakura put up her fists and steadied her breathing. 

The man just smiled. "I don't think that that will be very helpful in the kimono you're wearing… wonder if you'd take it off to properly fight? And…" 

He made a motion with his fingers, and Sakura felt someone grab her from behind. She started to raise her hand when she realized that the man was right. Her attacker had grabbed her sleeves, and her hands were pinned to her side. Sakura screamed, punching her attacker in the stomach. When he fell, she chucked off her shoes, forming a spell in her mind. Two others rammed into her from the sides. She kneeled over as pain shot through her chest. Taking a painful breath, she felt something dark, warm and liquid. She held her breath, hoping to pass out soon… 

Except that nothing happened. Sakura could hear something that sounded like Ume's bracelets jangling, and realized with a lurch that they were taking her body. Sakura chanced a glance up – she had to do something – and saw what looked like a blue and yellow blur attacking the men. Her vision focused, she recognized Syaoran. When the last of them fell, she saw him run over to Ume.

 "Daijoubu?" When the pale-faced girl didn't respond, he levitated her and floated her over to Sakura. "Sakura, daijoubu?" 

Sakura was about to get up and say yes when another sharp pain accompanied her breath. "Iie… I think I broke something…" A further pain confirmed that, and she put her head back on the ground. She could hear footsteps coming, and she moaned.

"Sakura-chan! Li, what's wrong?" 

Tomoyo… 

"From the looks of it, she's broken a rib, and Ume here is just in shock- no wait, she's hit her head. Ouch. Um… anyone around? There, that's better." 

_Eriol…_

"Sakura… Sakura, can you hear me? Damn, she's even more hurt. Sakura, make some sign if you can hear me."

Sakura lowered her head slightly, stopping when she heard everyone's sigh of relief. 

"It's me, Syaoran. Now, if I'm going to… ah… patch up your rib, I need you to turn around and let me see it."

Sakura smiled fuzzily, the pain lessening as he gently applied numbing layers. 

_Funny_, she noted hazily, _his voice goes all doctor-like when he's working…_

"The bastards…" Syaoran sounded like he was containing his anger, "That's some break for just a ramming. Then again, she also fell on top of that…oh, that's internal rupture and bleeding." 

Was it just her, or were his hands heating up? 

"I'll need to be able to actually see the rupture, as the bone's poked out of the skin…sorry Tomoyo, the dress needs to be cut open." 

As his hands slid across her chest and knocked the bone, a fresh wave of pain overcame her, and she felt herself slipping into unconsciousness. 

Wait…see the rupture…? 

~*~ 

Sakura could hear voices, but she was too warm and sleepy to move.

"Oi! She's waking up!" Sakura opened her eyes at Syaoran's voice and looked across, to where Ume was also stirring. The other girl looked at her with questions in her eyes, clearly not as comfortable to be waking up in Li Syaoran's bed. 

"Where are we?" 

"In our apartment." 

Sakura looked around the room. Why hadn't she ever visited? Syaoran and Eriol lived in a full-fledged suite, goodness! Sakura looked up at Syaoran, who looked slightly embarrassed as he came back with two cups. Stopping at the other bed first, he made his way to her bed and delivered the cup.

"Milk and honey! How did you…?" 

Syaoran smiled. "I remembered someone giving that to me some ten years ago…" 

Sakura took a sip and nearly swooned. Sipping the rest of the drink slowly, she watched Syaoran walk in his tight shirt. Kami-sama, martial arts really trained him up well… 

Finishing her drink, she jumped out of bed and immediately regretted it. Apparently, so did Syaoran, who immediately turned his tomato-face away and pulled out a pair of pants from the closet. 

 "Here, these were Meiling's." 

Sakura took them, grateful. "I… I have to go now, I have some homework left. What time is it?"

Syaoran glanced at his wrist, and Sakura noted the way his back muscles moved… "It's ten." 

Sakura yawned. "Mou, it's late." 

Syaoran shook his head.  "Iie. It's… well, it's late, but not in your way." He pointed to the window, where light was streaming through the window. 

"Oh… Tomoyo already left for Tomoeda, didn't she? I was going to go too…but that means…my keys…" Syaoran felt his body temperature rise an unhealthy amount as the other option immediately presented itself to him.

"Well, she left the keys here since she thought you might forget yours."

"Mou, Tomoyo is always one step ahead of me… hai then! Ja ne, and I'll return this once I wash it." Sakura turned to Ume. "Unless you would like me to go with you…?" 

Ume shook her head. "That's okay, Li has volunteered to go with me. It's funny, I could have sworn that I hit my head really bad, that second time, cause I remember blood. But then I woke up here, and it's been only twelve hours, and I feel fine, and there's no cut…" 

Sakura flushed more and turned the other way.  "Um… you see, it's like…" 

Syaoran cut in, his face perfectly blank. "If there were a cut, then I would assume it was very small and or it was in a spot where a lot of blood could gush out. In any case, we found no such injury and the wonders of modern medicine are unlimited. Now, if you excuse me, I have to go accompany my guest out…" Syaoran stood up and stretched, following Sakura out the door. The minute that the door closed, she turned around. 

"What was that? The Syaoran I knew couldn't lie to save his life!" 

He looked the opposite direction, taking a step forward. "Well, I used to get in a lot of trouble for using magic, so I got good at lying to conceal it…" 

He turned around, only to come face to face with the pretty brunette. Sakura's breathing cut off as she stared at him and him at her, and she could almost swear that he was staring at her with… longing? and their heads were coming closer…any moment they would touch… 

 "Uh… I have to go. Thank you again. Ja!" Sakura ran off through the door, berating herself as she went. _Sakura no baka, how could you?_

Sakura ran down the street, running as fast as she could. Not watching where she was going, she stumbled on a tree root and fell, twisting her ankle. Cursing, she glanced around then levitated the foot, to relieve the weight. 

Opening the door into her silent apartment, she limped in. Sitting on the couch, she whimpered as she poked her now swollen ankle. She had plenty of experience with sprained ankles, being Kinomoto Sakura, and this one looked bad. 

Just when she thought her day couldn't get any worse, a hand tapped her on the shoulder and she jumped about a foot. 

"D… dare?" She looked down to see a pair of hands and screamed. Almost immediately, Kero came shooting out from his room. 

"Sakura, daijoubu? What's wrong? Come on out, I'm Kerberos, guardian of the seal!" 

Sakura shook her head, pointing to the hands. "Nandemonai, just the hands scared me a little. Mou, arigato gozaimasu Kero-chan, now I'm scared of ghosts _and_ animate hands. What do they want?" 

Kero looked at them, and then almost fell out of the air in surprise.

"Hey, hey, would you look at that! They have rudimentary speech skills! Try listening to them on the same wavelength you would use to talk mind-to-mind." 

"But I can't talk mind-to-mind!" 

"Damn, I wanted to be organized and teach you magical skills you _needed_…well, try listening to the portion of your brain that sometimes tells you what you think other people are saying about you." 

Sakura closed her eyes, concentrating hard.

 "No, no, no! Relax!" 

Sakura let go the breath she was holding and tried to relax. After what felt like eternity, she was about to tell Kero that the %&#@# hands could just leave her alone, her ankle was hurting, when she heard something. 

'…_Help_… _letter… __hand… _not_… __answer…'  _

Sakura shrieked with joy, hitting her ankle on the table.

"Ouch! Kero! I heard something!"

The plushie clapped his hands enthusiastically. "Can you remember the feeling?" 

Sakura thought for a second. 

"It's like when I first get into bed, it's all comfortable and warm and I'm sinking in and feel all relaxed… then I remember that I'm in college, and there is no such thing as relaxing."

Kero snorted. "Clow used to say it was the feeling of egging on Madoushi, before he realized that he was trying to befriend the lady. Bloody stupid, he was. In any case, what do the hands want?" 

Sakura looked at them. "Something about not being able to answer a letter?"   
The hands clapped, then zoomed back to the room and came back with a print out. Sakura took it, her eyes scanning it quickly. 

"But… this is just a letter. From some random IP address. Why couldn't they answer it?" 

Kero took it, looking surprised. "They should be able to answer anything you could, and with your magic that should be- oh." 

"What?" 

Kero looked at her strangely over the top of the paper. Waving his hands over the top, he shrugged.

"Nandemonai…this person hid their email, so now maybe you'll get it…" Handing it back to her, he bopped himself on the head and floated back into his room. "And if you need me, I'm playing Street Warriors, and I don't care!" 

Sakura took it. "Hands, can you tell me why you can't answer it?" 

The hands clenched their fists in obvious frustration. 

"Oh, you can't express it?" 

They waved up and down in what she assumed was a nod. Holding up the paper, she read it aloud. 

**From: xiao_lang@li.com **

Sakura looked up. 

"It's from Syaoran!" 

**To: koi_chan@hatakeyama.edu**

**Dear Koi-chan, **

**I've liked this girl for a long time now, and I need some advice to finally confess. She's got the nicest and sweetest personality, brown hair, and the most expressive and gorgeous eyes I have ever seen and a great body, but she's not one of those people who spend hours and hours at the gym. I don't think she realizes how attractive she is.  My friend says she likes me, but I'm not sure… I mean, he messed up big time on his first love, and he's marrying his second.**

**I'm slightly desperate…I don't want to lose her before telling her (I'm in college). Could you help me? **

**-- Crushing Inside (and Extremely Dense – his friend)**

Sakura folded up the paper, and limped to the computer. 

**To: Automated Reply 465.86.7.8**

**From: koi-chan@hatakeyama.edu **

**Dear Crushing Inside (and Probably Not That Dense), **

**My advice to you is to just say it in the most romantic setting possible; there's no way you can go wrong with that! If you feel anxiety, that's perfectly normal. Try asking her friends about her; you'd be surprised how much of a romantic streak lies in every girl! **

**Make sure that she doesn't feel like she's taking you away from anyone she might know, since she seems like a nice girl. And make sure that she knows that you have 'someone in mind' whenever your friends tease you about other girls. No girl hits on a guy her friend likes! **

**Hope that helped. **

**Koi-chan.**

Sakura pressed the send button and hobbled back to the sofa. She'd had a small glimmer of hope…and then… 

…_What_…_wrong… _

Sakura smiled through glassy eyes at the hands, which were currently looking up (in a hand sort of a way) from bandaging her ankle. 

 "Nandemonai, hands-san. It's really nothing…oh, why am I crying?" Sakura blinked hard. 

Kero was there almost instantly. "Sakura, what's the matter?" 

"Just that Syaoran likes…" she sniffed a little, "…Ume." She bowed her head down, wiping her cheeks on her knee. The shirt still smelt faintly of his scent, a faint peppermint mixed with the cologne that she had given him a year ago… 

_I was wrong; he only wears it around me to be polite_… 

"Sakura…" Kero said her name slowly, drawing out the syllables in his peculiar way, "I think you need to go to sleep a little more. From what I heard, you had a pretty bad rib break, and it took a lot of magic to heal…" 

Sakura nodded as she made her way to her bed. Sinking slowly into the bed, she closed her eyes to try and relax, but all she could think of was how this Koi-chan business was a horrible idea. If not, she could still be wallowing in her fantasy world, the one in which he liked her. 

Still sobbing, Sakura fell asleep. 

~*~ 

In his apartment, Syaoran jumped and dropped his bowl of oil. His roommate woke up, concerned. 

 "Li? Are you okay?" 

Syaoran nodded, waving his hand to make the bowl rearrange itself. Eriol walked over and waved a hand in front of his face, and then waved his hand over the spilt oil, which flew itself back into the bottle. 

 "You're a bit distracted…you forgot about the oil. What happened?" 

Syaoran ran a hand through his hair, thinking.

 "I got the most vivid images a second ago… Let me remember…" He closed his eyes. "There was someone, not long ago, that was sad because of a heart-_chan_? Right. In any case, cherry blossoms surrounded this someone…" he looked up, worried, "You think something bad might have happened to her?"

Eriol shook his head. "Seems more like she didn't harness her mind-to-mind channel, and you picked it up because," his smile widened, (Syaoran was certain it would disappear into his ears any moment) "someone seems to be very in tune to what happens to our young cherry blossom, hmm? I mean, I'm the almighty reincarnation of Clow Reed, and _I didn't hear it…" _

Syaoran waved him away. "Very funny. But really, does she know how to talk mind-to-mind?" 

Eriol appeared thoughtful, but Syaoran knew he was poking around in her head. "Obviously not, because she's never tried it, so I'm assuming Kerberos taught it to her all of a sudden. So irresponsible, not teaching any mental wards means that any demon could hack into her mind right now with relative ease…" 

Syaoran was half way to the door at 'demon'. "What are you waiting for? Let's go!" 

Eriol tsked. "Sorry, I already put up parameters of protection… seems like you'll use any excuse to get to her house, will you?" 

Syaoran glared at him. "But, seriously, what happened?" 

Eriol shrugged. "But don't go now…she's sleeping." 

Syaoran look at him sceptically, then continued on his dish. Eriol walked to the computer room and sat down, clicking on the email icon, idly browsing for an email from tdaidouji… koi-chan? 

Eriol clicked on the letter, and it popped up. He quickly scanned it, his eyes widening as he deftly put two and two together. 

"Damn," he cursed softly as he closed the letter and made it appear that he had never read it. Opening up a new message, his fingers began to fly over the keyboard. There was only one person he could think of that could help him with damage control, and she was currently in Tomoeda attending a formal dinner where she was getting extremely bored.  

~*~ 

Miles away, Daidouji Tomoyo checked her portable e-mail device, her perfectly lined eyes opening wider and wider by the moment. Moving swiftly through the crowd and managing to portray 'I'm _terribly_ sorry, and I'd normally be _delighted_ to meet you, but I have urgent business', with just one look, she reached her mother. 

 "I'm sorry, but I have to go now. Something came up at school, and they need me. May I be excused?" 

Sonomi smiled, her eyes expressing her envy that her daughter still had ways to get out of dinners. "Yes dear, say bye to our guest of honour first…" 

Tomoyo signalled to her bodyguards, talking all the while in rapid-fire French to Yves Saint-Laurent, apologizing for leaving and whatnot. Why on earth was he the guest of honour? Oh, of course. Daidouji Co. was probably interesting in monopolizing yet another sector of goods.

Tomoyo smiled, ending their conversation and bowing her way out of the room. She snapped her fingers, and almost immediately, an entourage of ladies in black appeared behind her. Turning to the one in the middle, she started taking off her gloves.

 "Sata-san, I need every one of my tapes that include Li Syaoran packed and ready to go in an hour, and I'll need the jet to go back to Hatakeyama. Oh, and all my advanced video editing software." 

"Right away, Tomoyo-sama." 

Tomoyo started pulling bobby pins out of her hair as she quickly made her way up one of the staircases. The minute she entered her room, a maid ran forward to help her pull off her dress. Yanking at the lacings holding her body erect, she groaned in frustration at her cousin. 

_Trust_ Sakura and Syaoran to mess things up.

Damn. 

~* to be continued *~

**AN**: It's betaed, but don't blame my beta (Miss Qui Chen) if it's not perfect: I just corrected myself, so any mistakes are pretty much mine. And I finally realize how much work it is to beta. Sheesh.

I got my Tomoyo is rich scene, etc. etc. etc…I don't feel like an author's note right now. The next one has a more detailed bio type thing on my beta, sorry…sleepy…

wicherwill ^_^


	4. Chapter Three

**Disclaimer**: I've been forgetting this, haven't I? I hope big, bad Nelvana doesn't rip me to shreds… or feed me to that polar bear that is some logo…(*assistant 487-F whispers in ear*) What… you don't honestly mean that…(*faces readers in pure, unadulterated fear*). I swear, none of this belongs to me. It all, *ALL* belongs to CLAMP, Nelvana, that company that starts with a K, and anyone else with legal proof. Even take my story, just… just never force me to watch those dubbed things again…(*men in white suits cart wicherwill away*)

~*~ 

Trust _Sakura and Syaoran to mess it up. _

_Damn.___

~*~ 

Tomoyo tilted her head to the side, her headset strapped to her head and auto-dialling a particular dorm for the *millionth* time. She glared at her cold dinner, as if this was all the fault of her miso soup. "Sata-san, what _now_?" 

Her bodyguard broke off her conversation with the pilot, obviously angry. "Tomoyo-sama, the pilot is having… _difficulties_ securing landing permits. The airport refuses to authorize a pass to this aircraft since it flies without take off passes." 

Tomoyo took a deep breath and then dialed a different number on her phone. "Eriol. I need you to do something to the people at the Hatakeyama airstrip. No, I don't care what, just do something!" She hit the speaker button and sat back. 

"One step ahead of you, love." 

Tomoyo gasped as a projection of the blue haired man appeared for a brief moment, then disappeared as the plane dropped. She stood up the minute that she felt the plane touch ground. 

"Can I leave?" "The airstrip has been cleared. Team Alpha passing parcel to Team Under. Repeat, Team Alpha passing parcel to Team Under. Over." 

Tomoyo smiled as a thickly muscled woman helped her with her baggage. She could almost swear that she had half-smiled back, but that would have meant practically eliminating her from the surface of the earth. After watching her being shunned from every bodyguard agency. _Playing with dynamite_, Sata used to say. 

Tomoyo took her briefcase and strode out to Eriol, who was waiting. Taking the handheld screen offered to her by the same luggage carrier, she starting showing something to him, something that had 5:1 Dolby digital sound accompanying it… 

There are those who follow, those who lead, and then there are those who make things happen. As Daidouji Tomoyo walked with her fiancée, she knew that she was back in her place.

**~*~ **

Sakura sat at the bottom of a large oak tree, simply enjoying the summer sun that filtered through the leaves. Not a cloud in the sky, birds singing, the whole deal… She was firmly convinced that this was the picture of a perfect day. 

Glancing side to side, she frowned. There was Syaoran, walking up to Ume, who had just come out of the Journalism wing… He was bending over to fix her collar… She was laughing at something he said… He was hanging his head in apparent shame… 

Sakura looked away, determined to hold on to her disposition for as long as possible. All too soon, however, (slightly unwelcome) voices arrived on her left.

"Sakura! You, Syaoran, and I are like the only ones left on campus!" 

Sakura smiled, more in awe of Ume's show of cheerfulness than anything. "Right. You seem… happy…"

"Coming from the Queen of Genki herself? Nah, I just found out something," she glanced slightly at Syaoran, "great from Yuhara." 

If Sakura hadn't known better, she would have believed that she was telling the truth. As it was, she knew Ume's capabilities at bending the truth and stood up to start to leave. "That's great, I'm really happy for you. Yuhara's still working? This was supposed to be the study weekend, wasn't it? No papers… I'm relaxing as much as I can. And then do my traditional stuffy marathon."

"Same here… Although with Gem gone, I basically spend my time cleaning up a semester's worth of living with a slob." Sakura sweat dropped. "Feel free to come over to my house any time… Tomoyo's been gone only a day, and my place is a mess. That, and I can't seem to be able to cook anything with the ingredients I have at home… basically just sugar, pudding, milk, and instant cake mix." 

"I never knew you two ate junk food… you eat so healthy!" 

"Ano… w-we have guests over frequently…" 

Syaoran laughed, and both girls jumped a bit, slightly guilty at leaving him out. "Speaking of eating, I'm inviting the both of you to dinner. Tonight, at seven?"

"Oh Ume, Syaoran's asking me on a date. Help me, I'm fainting!" Sakura pressed a hand to her forehead, dramatizing to keep herself coherent. 

"No way, he likes me." Ume sidled up to Syaoran, her normal expression firmly in place, but her eyes were laughing in mirth. 

"No, I like someone else…" 

Sakura could almost swear that he glanced at her for the briefest of seconds, but she closed her eyes. Laughing, she said, "So, something about dinner…real food would be lovely." 

"Yes, my relative opened a new restaurant, and so technically I'm being pressured into going… but really, it's a good place. Could you make it tonight, at seven?" A small frown crossed Ume's face. "No, I don't think so… I have other plans. It's okay, you two go and have a good time without me." 

Sakura looked out of the side of her eye, and saw Syaoran about to protest, about to reschedule. She opened her mouth, not quite sure of what was going to come out and embarrass her, and blurted, "Oh, that's too bad. We sure will. Won't we, Syaoran?" She covered her mouth with her hand the moment the words were out of her mouth. 

He stared at her for a long moment, and then turned back to Ume. "I'm really sorry about that. Maybe another time?"

"Definitely. Ja." Sakura watched as she turned and started to run off campus to her dorm, her short auburn hair flying behind her. For a split second, she was almost convinced that it was her that was running off, as the two of them had the same hair colour and cut. 

"So… seven is okay? I'll come pick you up." 

"Arigato." 

"Oh, and…" He looked away, slightly flustered. "…It's a formal kind of restaurant, so if you could just grab something from Daidouji's closet, that would be great." Sakura almost laughed at the apprehension in his voice. 

"Sure. I'm sure she won't mind. Ja." Sakura walked away, gradually picking up speed until she was flat out running back to her apartment. 

_Sorry, Ume, but…_

Smiling, she made her way up the stairs to get ready.  

~*~ 

A few hours later, Sakura was starting to get a little frustrated. Just a bit. 

Okay, a bit times infinity. 

After most of the afternoon had passed, the only thing she had been able to find to wear was her red cheongsam. It was pretty; a mandarin collar, which trailed off into a wrap around type thing that wound around her. And it had something that Tomoyo had called a frog button, plus the flower embroidery was nice. Tomoyo had made some alterations to get it to fit her like a glove, and it did… with the help of Big and Little, of course. 

Okay, so it was the only dress she technically owned. The rest of it came from the Human Sewing Machine who lived next door. 

Okay, she had never worn it before. That was definitely a plus, since that meant _he_ had never seen it. 

So _his_ mother had given it to her. That didn't mean that he would know the dress, right? After all, she had given it to her slyly, telling her not to show it to him until the best moment. Of course, that was when she was certain that he liked her and whatnot. This was as great a moment as any other. 

Satisfied, she pulled out Big to enlarge the dress a teeny bit, so that it was humanly possible to actually wear. 

"IIIIIIE! Sakura! Stop!" 

Sakura dropped the dress onto her bed, startled. "Hoe?! Tomoyo? What… weren't you in Tomoeda?" 

"Well, I came back when I found out from someone that someone had convinced herself that someone didn't like her…" "I didn't exactly understand that, but from what I gather," she stopped herself, a calm, serene smile on her face, "Tomoyo, he likes Ume, and I accept it. In fact, I'll help him confess, because I know he won't otherwise. I mean, he-" 

"Except that _this_ someone is your destined, as Eriol was mine!" 

"Tomoyo, onegai. If you get me started, I'll never get through dinner." 

"Dinner? You weren't killing yourself or anything? Wearing a beautiful dress so that at your spring funeral you would match with your mahogany coffin?" 

"Tomoyo!" 

"Gomen, gomen… Oh! We have to get you ready then!" 

Sakura's eyes widened as Tomoyo dragged her into the third bedroom, where she had set up her 'shop'. "Help me… Help me! Kero! Yueh! Someone! Help meeeeeeeeee!" 

~*~ 

A few thousand miles away, Yukito blinked. 

"Um… Yueh? Did you… did you just feel that?" 

_Sakura-sama needs our help!_

Yukito froze as Yueh concentrated on the Hatakeyama campus. Seconds later, he started to choke. 

"Yueh? Yueh! Daijoubu?!" He stopped, listening carefully. That couldn't be… no… 

_Oh… Kami-sama… _

Yukito nearly fainted. 

Of all things… Yueh laughing. 

~*~ 

Sakura gagged, gasping. 

"Tomoyo… can't… breathe…" 

"But we're only two inches away from a perfect waist!" 

Sakura fumbled with the lacings, finally finding the catch string. She fell onto all fours, breathing heavily. "Tomoyo, you're giving me an extra set of bones. I won't be able to sit down with all this junk!" 

"That's what this hinge is for!" 

"Hinge? Hoeee!" 

"Fine, fine…Okay, go wash your face with this first, then this, then scrub with this, then this, then pat this on, wait seven minutes, then peel off… while waiting, you can mix this and this together, which goes on for five minutes then gets scraped off. After this, we'll wash your face to ready it for the under foundation." 

Sakura took the offered items hesitantly. "Tomoyo, it's just dinner." 

Aforesaid person nearly had a heart attack. 

"Just dinner? JUST DINNER?! For Kinomoto Sakura," she said to the wall, breathing rather forcibly with a glazed look in her eye, "this is an opportune moment for a certain blind, deaf, mum gaki to confess to certain _mutual_ attractions. But," her voice becoming audible again, "that doesn't mean we can't get ready!" 

~*~

Two hours later, Sakura was covering her eyes in terror, refusing to look at the mirror. "I'm going to look like an idiot, I have no _clue_ what half of those things you smeared on my _hands_ alone were, I'm going to look like some sort of badly dressed doll, I'm out of shape, I can't believe I let you talk me into this…" 

Tomoyo sighed and yanked her hands from her face. She got the answer she needed when her friend froze, glued to the mirror. "There. Now if you'd just remember not to blush and sweat off this stuff-" "Tomoyo, am I to believe that your designer makeup line is not almost permanent?" 

"…Okay, so just don't blush cause it doesn't render you any more comprehensive." 

"I'll be fine, don't worry!" She was about to leave when the hands came back, holding another piece of paper. "Hands-san, who is it this time? Oh…" 

Tomoyo watched as her friend dragged her eyes from the printout with considerable willpower.

"Nani?" 

"Tomoyo, if I have _ever_ been a good friend to you, take this paper and do not let me read it until this dinner has become a memory. I daresay that I won't be able to continue if I do." Tomoyo took the offered paper slowly, her eyes scanning it and putting her own two and two together. "Well then, it's almost time… Here's your jacket… You'd better be off!" 

Tomoyo handed her a full-length black coat and pushed her friend out the door, looking at the clock nervously. As soon as she saw Syaoran open the door for her, she shot off into her own room. Quickly selecting an all black outfit, she pulled out her cell phone.

"Eriol? Can you hear me? They've left. Is everything all right there? All set?" 

"Of course. Spinel is spending the night at your house, so he should be there any moment… I'm set." 

"Good. They've just left, so that gives us about five minutes to get settled there before they arrive." 

"Sure thing. I'm right outside in five seconds, so come on out." 

"Ja." 

Tomoyo smiled, lacing up her one-piece black dress and snapping her phone closed with a smart click. As much as she wanted Sakura to stop acting like a dunce, she couldn't wait to see how many different ways she managed to misinterpret Syaoran's meanings this night. 

~*~ 

"Kami-sama… this is… this is just too much." Sakura stepped into the restaurant, enthralled. 

"You think so?" He shifted around, clearly used to such opulent surroundings. 

"It's… gorgeous." 

Gorgeous could be used to describe Imari, the restaurant the two of them were currently at. Any Li was a shrewd businessman, and Li Cong was no exception. Imari was situated around a modest ballroom floor, which faced a small stage where live music could be heard every night. The circles were efficient; waiters dressed in traditional Japanese clothing only appeared through small doors to serve food that the guests choose on small, digital screens.

"I hope you like sukiyaki, that's the specialty here." 

"May I take the lady's jacket?" 

Sakura smiled and shrugged out of her coat, still taking in the elegant fixtures and the open roof. 

"I'd love to meet the person in charge of this… Syaoran? Are you okay?" 

Syaoran had frozen the moment she had taken off her coat, and any normal person would think that it was because the dress was gorgeous. "Where… where did you get that dress?" 

"Your mother gave it to me… why, is it too much?" 

Using what seemed like superhuman force, Syaoran shook his head. "No, it's just that… actually, nandemonai. Come, I have a table reserved in the back…" He led her behind a screen to a small, outdoor patch of lawn by the ocean. A few tables were set up, and they were in roughly the shape of a quarter-circle, allowing the seated occupants to both watch the sunset… or each other. Sakura knelt down, being careful not to mess the dress up. 

"Konban wa. Welcome to Imari. Li Fen desu, and I'll be your waiter for the night." 

Sakura turned around to see a female splitting image of Syaoran holding a pad.

"H… Hoeee?" 

The lady-Syaoran laughed. "You must be Kinomoto Sakura. Kami-sama… that dress… congra-"

"Fen, it's not. This is just where it disappeared to," Syaoran cut in with clipped tones. 

The smile on her face fell a teeny bit. "Oh. Well, welcome to Imari and whatnot… ano, we have great sukiyaki, so I hope you like it." 

Sakura found herself liking this woman more and more as she reeled off her spiel. She almost laughed out loud too, when the two Lis displayed identical tastes and suggestions that fit in with their appearances perfectly.

"Okay, I'll come out with the complimentary sake and your appetizer right away." 

Sakura watched her go, slightly confused. "Syaoran, what was she saying about my dress?" 

"Oh, it's just that… Okaa-san wore it once and Fen really liked it, and wanted a copy of the pattern with jasmine flowers instead." 

Sakura nodded, but she couldn't shake off the feeling that he wasn't quite meeting her eyes when he said that… 

Soon, however, she was immersed in a delicious meal and was rapidly chatting away with Syaoran. _Growing up with four sisters who were chatter-mouths must have done something to his brain. I remember Otou-san during my spiels...nod and smile, that was his tactic._ She laughed at the thought, completely immersing herself in what she knew to be a lie. However, the truth hurt, and this felt… right.

"That was a horrible night… Eriol insisted that I accompany him to every single ring store in bloody Japan. And then, once we had found what he thought was the perfect ring… He hadn't brought the correct size." 

"Oh, that's where you two were. Tomoyo was out of her mind with worry, cause you had disappeared without a trace. Come to think of it, _I_ was more worried over what had happened to you. Kero hadn't helped; he was recounting all the horrible situations he could remember about dark, stormy Friday nights and demons and Li members who went missing. I was so scared by the end of that night…I was convinced that you would turn up in a black sack." 

"I remember that…the minute we walked into your apartment, I was sure that you would yell at us for dripping water onto your carpet, and instead you launched yourself at me and I bruised my tailbone…" He chuckled. 

"It's not funny! I was really scared that you had died and had left me all alone!" 

He paused, looking carefully at the swiftly darkening sky. "You've grown so much since I've first met you, and I can say this as a person who turned into an adult when most were becoming teenagers. But you're still vulnerable, Sakura, and," he turned, taking her hand in both of his, "it's part of you. So don't you ever forget, I will _always_ be there for you. Always." 

Sakura paused, barely breathing.

And for the second time, Sakura could almost swear that _this_ was the way it was meant to be, that he loved her. His face was mere inches from hers; it would be a simple matter to move closer… She could almost swear that he was moving closer too, and she became acutely aware that their hands were still entwined on the table. Funny, how well they fit. Sakura closed her eyes, shivering slightly in anticipation. Any moment now, she would feel his lips on hers… 

"Xiao Lang? Someone told me you were out here!" 

Sakura jumped back, her eyes opening as quickly as if she had been electrocuted. Looking at the figure now appeared through the curtain, she glanced out the side of her eye. He was already composed, realization dawning on his face as the voice echoed through her head, slightly familiar… but where?

"Feimei! What… what are you doing here?" Syaoran looked over the hug he was receiving from his youngest sister at Sakura, confusion evident on his face. 

"Oh, come off it, this is a Li contact point, didn't you know that?" 

"I haven't seen Cong, true… How's Wu and little Donglu?" 

"Fine, fine…oh, Sakura-chan! Remember me?" 

"Of cour-" 

"Kami-sama! The dress! Congratulations! Xiao, when did you plan on telling the family? Maybe after you-" 

"Gomen for interrupting, but what is with this dress? You're the third person to make a comment about it." 

Feimei froze, looking back and forth from Syaoran to Sakura. After a while, she directed her glance at Syaoran, and Sakura guessed that she was talking mind-to-mind. She concentrated and then relaxed, remembering what Kero had told her. Relax… breathe in, breathe out…

_…Not tell her what that dress is! Mama never told any of us what she did with it, not even when Jiao was getting married, and she had so wanted to wear it… She deserves to know!_

_Feimei, it's not polite to talk mind-to-mind in the presence of others. _

_Don't you dare put me off track! Imagine if Cong had come out instead of Fen… it would have been all over the tabloids by now, that The Li was marrying the Card Mistress… in any case, she can't talk mind-to-mind, you told us. _

_That's no matter, can you imagine how she'd feel if she knows? I mean, she- damn! _

"Damn!" __

The last was said out loud as Sakura stood up, tears in her eyes. 

"Syaoran… gomen… I had no idea, really, and I didn't mean to almost-" Sakura stopped herself before she went too far, "just gomen." Turning, she ran out, the curtain flapping noiselessly behind her. 

~*~ 

Kero watched from a corner of the room as his mistress flung the brilliant dress she had been wearing across the room, then sat on her bed and proceeded to cry into her knees. "I'm such a blubbering idiot… I can't believe I did something like that. He thinks I'm an idiot, he must know I like him, he's going to hate me. I honestly wish the next demon sends me off into the seventh gate…" 

Kero started, considering helping her, but stopped when he realized that she was just seriously distressed. He watched, his eyes widening in anticipation, as she reached for the printout that he had read over and over that evening. He smiled, content. As much as he hated the brat, if her finding out his blatantly obvious feelings made her feel better, he was game. He got ready as she cleared her throat, still talking to thin air.

"_Dear Koi-chan. Thank you for your advice._ Well, you had better be happy, it's costing me my sanity. Blah, blah, _I asked her friends_. Really? When was this? I mean, you could talk to me. I've only been your closest friend for what, ten years?! _You were right, they became quite open the minute I confessed._ Oh lovely, should I go and tell you all the different people she's fancied the minute that you tell me you like her? Oh wait, you've already done that. _I also tried subtly_ – not! – _mentioning I liked someone else._ No, you didn't. You were as subtle as a bull in a china shop. And you got it messed up, because you said it at the wrong time. _I'm going to try asking her… out to dinner at a nice spot._" 

Kero nearly fell out of the air in surprise. Exactly _how_ dense was she? He was about to go and try bashing that thick head of hers when he saw her face fall, in a familiar expression of (as usual, totally undeserved) sadness and guilt.

"Great. Now I messed it up, all because I wanted to go with him. Should have been more insistent, shouldn't have acted like an inconsiderate prat…" 

Kero followed her to the computer, hovering above her shoulder. He watched as she picked up her hands, and then dropped them back into her lap. Numerous times. 

"Hey kiddo, need some help?" He flew safely out of dangerous territory as she jumped. 

"Mou, Kero, how long have you been spying on me?" 

"Since you came in here," he said frankly. 

She made to swat him, but dropped her hand halfway. "Could you transform into Kerberos? Please? I need an older face, sorry."

Kero shrugged, transforming and coming beside her so that she could run her fingers through his fur. "Can I give you help in this form?"  

She laughed. "No, I'm okay. It's just been a stressful weekend, and I'm slightly tired out." 

"Is that it?" Kero tried his hardest to keep a face like Clow's when she picked up her head and stared at him. Then, before he knew what was happening, she had enveloped him (as best she could) in a hug and was telling his back the entire story, starting with seeing the brat for the first time, through his coming back in junior high, until this weekend, when, from what he could tell, her world had come crashing down upon him. 

"It's just that… I always expect him to be there, like a pillar, cause he's always supporting me. I don't know what I'll do after I graduate. Frankly, I don't see how I'll be able to start on my own, with Tomoyo already well into starting TD as a company and Eriol off to Cambridge in England and Onii-chan still in America with Yukito, and I can't ask Otou-san to just drop his work, not on the brink of his promotion…but worst of all is Syaoran still not knowing exactly where he'll continue med school… I'm scared, Kero, I can't work alone." 

"Hey, hey… well, you'll always have me." 

Sakura smiled, a small yawn escaping her mouth. "Of course. What would I do without you?" 

"For one, I doubt you'd ever sleep on a normal schedule… Come on, finish up your letter thing and go to sleep. Where's Tomoyo? I want dinner…" 

Sakura wasn't paying attention, typing away on her keyboard. "She said something about going to the AV room at school… don't know what time she'll be back, she didn't say." 

When Kero came back, his paws smelling distinctly of the only edible substance in the house, she was about to press send. "Come on then, read it out to me." 

Sakura sent him a look, but read it anyway. "Ano… Dinner is a lovely idea, do it more often. Stuff about generally what are good places, and what are not. Some more help on how to mention *subtly* that you like someone else. Oh, and how to ask her out without having to resort to group dates. Sound good?" 

Kero nodded in approval, still licking his paws. 

"Oh, forget it. I've sent it, so you can't take it back." She was about to turn off the computer and go to sleep when Kero started to talk. 

"You know, if you'd just… stop being so… so… so selfishly selfless, you would be a lot happier." Of course, he knew that she wouldn't understand (okay, so that statement was confusing to him too). 

But then again, that was Sakura. 

~*~ 

"Li, have you seen Sakura?" 

Syaoran looked up from his work, worried. Then he saw the girl named Ohka Gemmei walking with another girl, and became more worried. 

"No, but wouldn't she be with you? When did you last see her? Did she appear frightened? Has she disappeared for a long period of time?" 

"Whoa, hold it there, Romeo! All I wanted to know was if you had seen Sakura since she – who is perfectly safe – has been doing all she can to avoid anyplace that… well, now that I think about it, anyplace you might be. Ume here and I have gotten barely ten words out of her this entire week, and it's not because of exams. What, did you have a fight? Oh, wait, I forgot. You haven't told her that you've liked her for, oh, _eight years_, so you _obviously_ couldn't have had a lover's quarrel." 

Gemmei Looked at him, and he started thinking that this Koi-chan person had been wrong. Daidouji had been subtle in orchestrations that were not-so-subtle, Hiiragizawa had been snide, Ii had been sappy, but Ohka… he shook his head. Ohka was all of them put together. She was not subtly snide and thought that it was sweet. Of course, this meant she wanted results _now_.

"Oh. Gomen. And no, I haven't seen her… I have been studying a lot… although you said that was her intent?" 

"Yeah, and it's probably all your fault, so if you did anything to her, you'll be getting a-" 

"Gemmei, calm down. Can't you tell he's worried about her? Li," Ume directed her words towards him for the first time, "Gem isn't kidding. It's been a week since you went out for dinner, and since then she's basically thrown herself into her studies. Don't get me wrong, she'll be top of class, and that's great, but… what on earth did you do?" 

Syaoran ran a hand through his hair, frustrated. "In short, the formal dress she wore to the restaurant is the dress worn by every Li female during their wedding. That's not special, I mean, there are just over a hundred kimonos and dresses in a Li wedding, but this was the quai boi, and it caused a small- er, slightly large commotion when it simply disappeared from my mother's possessions. That's it, basically. And Sakura didn't know any of it; she overheard us talking mi-overheard us talking. Since my family ran that restaurant, a number of people recognized it. My uncle, cousin, sister…but honestly, no one took it the wrong way." 

Both girls looked at him like he was nuts, but Gemmei had the courage to speak up first. 

"You… _you_… stupid no baka yaro _plus_ gaki _plus_… _how could you be so_ STUPID?!"

"I agree with Gem, just not so… violently." 

Syaoran had what one would call a… colourful vocabulary, but that smile of Gemmei's was suggesting that her vocabulary was related to a rainbow, and she knew some complementary colours too. He opened his mouth to help himself, but all he managed was a small squeak that sounded like, "Someone help me…" 

"Someone help you indeed. Li, do you have any idea of how a formal wedding of any sort goes? Chinese? Japanese?" 

"A traditional Chinese wedding must have a number of requirements. First, a go-between must negotiate with the bride's family to get permission to marry their daughter. This is where the first stages of the dowry take place. If permission is granted, then the eight letters, a certified astrologist compares a traditional birth date, known as the eight letters, of the bride and groom. If the letters clash, the groom must drop the wedding immediately. If they do not, then the planning moves onto the first letter, or the-" 

"Okay, Li, we get the point."

"Sorry. Autopilot." 

"In any case, a Chinese wedding seems like a huge commitment, am I correct?" 

"It is. And it is the groom's responsibility to pay for the banquet-" 

"Li, shut up. It's a huge commitment, and it takes a lot of time. Getting married into the Li Clan is a big deal, with kimonos and-" 

"What Gemmei is trying to get to is that Sakura was probably pretty deeply shocked. She feels like she violated something, and I don't blame her. It's almost like planning your wedding before you even plan on getting engaged. And if you somehow got into that mess, I'm not surprised Sakura didn't go into a slightly crazy fit. If that were me, I'd be talking the head off my stuffed animals, ranting about how the world in general was horrible. Gemmei and I are close to Sakura, but no where near as close as Daidouji, who we've seen even less of-" 

"If that were humanly possible. As it is, it doesn't seem like it. Or at least I don't think it is. Wait a second-" 

Syaoran raised one finger timidly. "I hope you don't feel offended, but you look just like one of my sisters when she realizes that she's completely missed her point." 

"That's right. Ume, he's right. Wow. What was our point? Oh yes, Sakura." 

"…Sakura."    

"Yes, it was Sakura." 

Syaoran swallowed, then pointed. "No. Sakura." 

Ume and Gemmei followed to where he was pointing, and started breathing when it became apparent that she had been too far away to hear anything. Syaoran froze the minute she spotted them and ran towards them. This was not good, she hadn't seen him, and he was beginning to think that maybe the two of them were right and he had messed everything up… 

"Konban wa! Hey, anyone up for going to the ice cream store? Ume, Gemmei, Syaoran? Come? Please?" 

Three blank faces stared back at her. 

"Are you three okay? Syaoran, did," she pushed her hair back, forcibly, over her left ear, in their signal for 'magic', "anything happen?" 

Gemmei was the first to recover, and she slid glances to both of them that clearly meant to snap out of it. "Of course we'll come. I _have_ been dying for some mint chocolate chip…" She grabbed Ume's hand and jerked her head at Syaoran, skipping down the hill in perfect time to Sakura. 

A block from the store, Ume had recovered enough to do her mother hen questioning. "Ne, Sakura, you're certainly happy… what happened?" 

Sakura stopped, running in front of them to open the door. "Who wouldn't be happy? After exams," she paused, grinning, "Chiharu's getting married!" 

There was a collective *THUD* as three bodies fell to the ground… no, wait… _five_ bodies… 

~* to be continued (I promise) *~ 

**AN**: It's my first full chapter with a beta, so if it's tonnes better, then it's because I listened to someone's advice (*another collective THUD*) and had someone read over it. If it's horrible, then it's cause I only pretended to follow her advice. But since I hope it's good, then let's give a round of applause to… 

Miss Qui Chen! Who is on ff.net, and is 100% abso-*&$%#-lutely correct in her bio thing. Go check it here: Qui Chen That link should work, it's something new that ff.net came up with. Nifty, isn't it? I can't stand all those numbers! 

I just want another chapter after this, really. I don't want this to turn into every other one of these fics I've read, so I've got a cool ending, which I want to write and be finished with. Then I have a number of things wanting to be written, including a huge number of one-shots following OotP…*walks away muttering about resurrection potions and secretly meeting with the Mary Sue Clan Ministry, Misleading Deaths and Other Ways to Resurrect department*

wicherwill ^_^


	5. Chapter Four

_Sakura stopped, running in front of them to open the door. "Who wouldn't be happy? After exams," she paused, "Chiharu's getting married!"_

_There was a collective *THUD* as three bodies fell to the ground…no, wait…five bodies…_

_~*~_

"Free! Free! Kami-sama, we are FREE!" Gemmei spun around in circles, ecstatic.

"Hai, hai, we know. Exams were so difficult!" Sakura was laying flat on her back, just… breathing.

"No, Sakura, _you_ made them difficult."

"Ume's totally right, you know. The both of us didn't work nearly as hard as you did, and we're both going to get a yu. I think. Um, if there were two hundred points on that last essay, and if yu is up to an eighty, then…" she stared hopelessly at her hands.

"Calm down, will you."

"Easy for you to say, you've done nothing but study the past week."

"Both of you need to relax. There's a huge margin for passing with a yu, you both know that. One hundred to eighty is twenty percent and that means you could have gotten forty points off, Gemmei." Ume lay back, eager to shift the topic off school. "Any plans for summer vacation?"

"Chiharu's wedding!"

Gemmei and Ume sweat dropped. Gemmei spoke up, "Well, we hope you feel better." 

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well… Syaoran's doing med, so he won't be out for another, what month and a half-ish?"

Sakura looked away, quiet. "I don't get your point."

Ume sat next to her, talking softly. "Sakura, I'm sure that whatever happened, he feels just as bad as you do. Please don't waste your vacation worrying about him; you really need this break."

Sakura took a deep breath, closing her eyes. When she opened them, she turned to her friends and raised one eyebrow.

"Do you know what happened?"

"Well, you wore the Li clan quai boi on your not-date with Li, if that's what you mean. Oh, shoot, let me guess. You didn't know that, did you?"

Sakura glanced, horrified, as Gemmei started smacking herself on her head and muttering. Ume continued in her vein, saying with a maturity that was her symbol, "Sakura, it's not as bad as it looks."

"Oh, it's not like I wore a wedding dress to a not-date. Oh wait, it _is_!" Sakura smiled superficially, then scowled at the ground.

"If you think about it that way, then it is… but do you really think he took it that badly? I mean, come off it, you don't know, he probably likes you and you're making a fool of yourself."

Sakura jumped as if electrocuted, looking at Ume as if seeing her for the first time. "What do you mean, he likes me? He likes someone else, I know he does, and it's not me, I can say for sure. Really, I know." She looked at Ume, calming down. "Well, although I can't say I agree, you are totally right. I really need this vacation, and you two do too. Oh!" Sakura glanced at her watch, wanting to smack herself. "Either of you feel up to a visit to my hometown? We'd have to leave soon to catch the jet, but I'm sure Tomoyo could host you… pretty please? You could always come back…"

Gemmei laughed. "Sakura. I have nothing to do for two months, and you're offering me a ride on a first-class jet, and a stay at a house that you've described as 'bigger then bigger than big'. What do you think, I'd say no?"

"No, but you might say, 'Oh, I'd be a bother'."

"Iie, Ume. I assure you Tomoyo has enough space to host all of you. I don't even want to count the number of times I've showed up there because onii-chan mysteriously locked me out."

The three girls quickly packed up their bags, meeting up afterwards and running towards the bus station located right outside campus. And from a window high up, a pair of brown eyes followed one figure all the way.

~*~

"Kaijuu!"

"Onii-chan?! Hoeee!" Sakura squealed as she spotted her brother in the airport.

"What are you doing here?"

"Going back home… Chiharu's wedding! You?"

If she wasn't mistaken, her brother looked away slightly before responding. "Oh, I just felt like visiting. What flight are you on?"

"Tomoyo's jet. Oh, gomen. Onii-chan, these are my two friends, Ohka Gemmei and Ii Ume. I'm sure I've told you about them…"

Touya smiled at them. "Konban wa. I'm supposing you're accompanying her because… Well, you'll love Tomoeda. Sakura, you should check Tskumine out. Kaho and little Kaho-chan have some wonderful ideas for Tanabata festival, but they need some help with the floating stars, um, special effects portion of it… Oh look, my flight's come in. It was very nice meeting you, and I hope to see you in Tomoeda."

"Oh, Onii-chan?"

"Hai?"

Sakura took a few steps towards her brother, enveloping him in a tight hug. Just before she released him, she stomped on his foot. Hard.

"Ouch! What was that for?"

Sakura smiled. "That's for calling me a kaijuu."

~*~

"Tomoyo! Finally!" 

Tomoyo whipped around upon hearing her friend's voice. "Sakura! You came…oh, konban wa, Ii, Ohka."

"Call me Gemmei. Ano… Sakura said…" Tomoyo watched as she became flustered, looking at Ume for help.

"What Gemmei means – oh, call me Ume – is that Sakura invited us to her hometown for the wedding and for vacation, and although we don't mind staying in a hotel, we'd be very gracious if you could room us." She smiled slightly.

Tomoyo laughed. "And I'm sure Sakura entertained you with stories about my big, cavernous house with more rooms than I know what to do with, right? Sure, I don't mind. Knowing Sakura, she probably made you run off half-packed… Come on, Chiharu is going nuts. Sakura, remind me to never try planning a wedding even partially by myself. Oh, Ume," she walked closer to her, whispering in her ear, "everything's ready. Did you manage to pack…?"

"Yes, Gem and I managed to distract her long enough."

"Good. I can't believe I was that clumsy… but I needed to start working in my own lab, because the school one is shared…"

"I-we understand, Tomoyo."

"Arigato. Sakura," she raised her voice, "I made your half-kimono for the wedding, come see it!"

~*~

Between arranging flowers ("Chiharu, it's okay, I know…someone…who can get your flowers to you by this evening, if you wanted"), fixing catering ("What do you mean, she's allergic to lobster? Damn, Yamazaki, why can't you just flat-out lie for a change?"), items of clothing ("Are we all hiding in this closet because of Tomoyo and her *$^%& tape measure?"), and various mishaps ("The little bride and groom have disappeared! Help! Call the police!"), time flew by very fast.

"Tomoyo… can't… breathe…"

Sakura walked over and pulled at the lacing around Chiharu's waist, snickering. "Believe me, I know the feeling. Remind yourself next time to get fitted _after_ dinner."

"Arigato…"

"Sakura! We have to get you fitted up!"

Sakura made to run, but stopped abruptly when she came face to face with a solid wall of black. 

"Sata-san… _please_…"

"No can do, Kinomoto."

Sakura could almost swear that she smiled as Tomoyo came and dragged her to the pedestal.

"Now, for the bridesmaids, we have basically the opposite of the bride's dress. As you know, her dress is white with red decorations, so yours is red with white. And while hers is more of a western kimono, yours is more of a kimono, without a train." Sakura watched as she said all of this while shoving and pinning and sewing, and stepped back after a few moments. "Lovely."

"Really?"

"Yup! Now get out of it, you have to go pick up some more guests…" 

Sakura groaned good-naturedly as she made her way out the door, grabbing her keys from the table. She turned around, opening the door and smacking solidly into someone.

"And good evening to you too."

Sakura looked up, and gulped. "Gomen, Syaoran."

"It's okay. Where are you off to?" He pointed at the keys.

"Oh, I have to pick up guests. I should really be going…"

"Could I come?"

Sakura looked up in surprise. "Why… Well, hai, I guess…" She started walking to the garage, acutely aware that he was walking behind her, watching her every move. _Damn, why can't you just leave me alone?_

The car ride passed in uncomfortable silence. Sakura glanced out of the corner of her eye every now and then at her passenger, and nearly always caught him staring at her. Finally mustering the courage to speak up, she cleared her throat.

"Look-"

"Listen-"

"Oh, you can go first." Sakura clenched the steering wheel in semi-relief.

"That's okay, you can."

"No, you can."

"I insist. You go."

"Just go!"

"Mou, Syaoran, you make life easy. I feel for your sisters."

"Hey! Don't bring them into this!" He smiled at her good naturedly, and Sakura found herself missing his company. _Nothing is worth losing his friendship._

"Fine. We'll go at the same time."

"Effectively confusing us both."

"Shaddup."

"Don't get all touchy and moody with me! Please!"

Sakura made a noise of protest and batted him, swerving the car. "I resent that. Okay… one… two… three…" 

She took a deep breath, felt him do the same, and- 

"I'm sorry."

Sakura nearly crashed the car. Sorry? What did that mean? He liked the dress? He liked the symbolism? _Don't get too far ahead of yourself._ "It's okay."

"I should have told you immediately, about the dress. It would've been terrible if some reporter had been there, and then it would have been entirely my fault… Of course, I don't think your brother would let me live long enough to apologize."

"Would it have been such a bad thing?" Sakura nearly choked herself laughing at the look on his face. "Relax, I'm joking. But honestly, you'd have to enter some sort of protection agency. Or change your gender."

There was a pause, then both of them burst out laughing and the ice was officially broken and melted. The rest of the car ride passed smoothly.

~*~

"The flight should have already come a while ago… ouch… okay, just an hour." Sakura paid for the parking ticket and parked, shaking Syaoran awake.

"Wei-san… I don't have school… go away…"

Sakura rolled her eyes and dumped the rest of her water bottle on his head, smirking as he bounced up and started Kung Fu-ing the seatbelt. "Wake up, Syaoran, we're at the airport. And we're late."

"How late?"

Sakura grimaced. "Well, the flight came two hours ago… it had already landed when we left."

"Really? You should have called me, I could have brought them-no, I couldn't have."

"Why?"

"I teleported to my apartment, then drove to the Central Wedding Insane-ator. Wei's not there right now, or I would have had a ride and wouldn't be so sleepy…"

"Well, you got a nap."

"Very true."

"Chiharu said that all guests were instructed to go and wait at the domestic waiting room… Any idea where that is?"

Syaoran sweat dropped. "Well, I think the large neon sign in front of us is telling us that it's that big room to our right…"

"Shaddup." Sakura walked into the room, plopping down in one of the comfy sofas. "Oh… I'm so sleepy now, and it's barely ten."

Syaoran finished talking to a lady at the desk, sat next to her, and patted his shoulder. "Sleep on me, I've told the lady that we're waiting for any guests for the Mihara-Takashi nuptial, so we should be all set."

"You're so… organized… and," she yawned, "so…" Sakura felt herself falling, but just closed her eyes and put her feet up. 

~*~

Syaoran jumped when Sakura's head fell into his lap and she grabbed his hand, putting it under her cheek. After a moment, he took his other hand and gently brushed a few loose strands of hair behind her ear. She looked so… peaceful and relaxed, clutching his arm and sleeping.

He gazed at her, and realised with a jolt that he wasn't only sleepy because of his teleport, but because there hadn't really been anyone to interrupt him while he had been working the last month. Life was really boring without her around, he mused, watching her side rise and fall slowly. 

Rise… fall… rise… fall… rise… fall… rise… 

Syaoran awoke with a jolt, staring around wildly and automatically assessing the situation. _Signs of danger? None. Freedom of movement? Yes. Surroundings? Sofas, shops, indoor, lighting, one person sleeping in my lap. Signs of amne- wait, someone sleeping?_ Syaoran jumped once, then jumped again when he realised that he shouldn't be jumping with someone in his lap. A few panicked heartbeats later, he remembered why he was here with a sleeping Kinomoto Sakura in his lap.

"Sakura? Sakura?"

"G'away, Kero."

Syaoran moved back as she blindly swept the air around her. "Oi, Sakura, it's me, Syaoran. We're at the airport, remember?"

He watched as she turned, facing upwards, and eyed his face still half-sleeping. 

"Syaoran, I love you, but I don't want to elope, I want otou-san to give his blessings." She turned back over, asleep once more.

Syaoran blinked furiously, trying to process what had just happened. _Just half-asleep. Just half-asleep. _"Sakura, we are at the airport trying to pick up guests for Yamazaki's wedding-" (He was about to add 'not ours', but decided that was too mean) "-and I have no idea how long I've been sleeping."

Sakura moaned and stretched a little, springing into a sitting position so fast that she nearly hit his head. "What do you mean, how long? What time is it?" She crossed her eyes, trying to read the watch on his hand.

"It's after ten thirty. Why?"

Sakura hit her head. "Damn, they'll have towed my car by now then. I really didn't want to have to pay fines for a while…" she stood up, digging into her back pocket, then the other. "Shoot… wallet."

"Here, I'll pay, you can pay me when we get back."

Sakura began to nod when her eyes opened wide. "No! Kuso! We can't… my license is in it! They won't let me take it, I don't have my insurance card or my license and they'll arrest me…"

"Calm down, let me try and bring the wallet here. It's that Tare Panda one, right? Where is it?"

"No idea… somewhere in my luggage."

"Can't hurt to try…" He put his hands together, closing his eyes and concentrating. "Wallet." 

"Nothing happened. We're stuck here."

"No, we are _not._" He glared at his hands, bringing them together with a clap. "Wallet!"

Sakura waited with bated breath, then frowned and blinked hard as the world began to wobble… No wait, Syaoran was wobbling… She gasped as he fell backwards onto the couch.

"Daijoubu?! Syaoran?"

He moaned, shifting a little. "Hai… oh, I'm burnt out. I should have just waited for Yamazaki's ride."

Sakura was about to say something when a sudden idea struck her. "Syaoran… Chiharu offered you a ride?"

"Yes, but I told Yamazaki when I hit the airport that I didn't need it. Why? Oi, careful!"

Sakura stopped in the middle of smashing her head against a small table. "Yamazaki spent all day with his grandparents. None of us has heard from him. Tomoyo sent me because she had a master schedule of everything… get my drift?"

Syaoran groaned. "So you're telling me that I went with you to pick myself up?"

"Pretty much."

"And now we're stuck here without a car? Any taxis available?"

Sakura walked over to the desk and came back shaking her head. "Taxis after ten thirty are only available to people actually on flights. And since you already checked out, you don't count."

"…We're stuck here?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, let's go then."

"…Where?"

"To get a room. I need to sleep, or I'll faint again. My wallet's in the back pocket."

"Come along then…" Sakura levitated him slightly, smiling widely at the lady at the front desk, "Ano, I need a room for tonight."

"All we have is a Spartan room: one bed, bathroom with shower, table with one chair. Will you take it?"

"Hai, hai, here." Sakura shoved some money towards the lady and grabbed the key, frog-marching Syaoran to the room. Plopping him onto the bed, she leant against the wall. "Mou, you're heavy."

"…" (Sound someone can make when a shirt is muffling their head)

"What are you doing?"

"You aren't going to sleep in that, take my shirt." He flopped back, grabbing a pillow and a set of spare sheets.

"Where do you think you're going?"

"Sleep."

"The bed's the other way."

"Where are you going to sleep?"

"I know where this is going. Absolutely no way. You are at almost zero magic, and you need the bed. I'll take the chair," she eyed the metal spindly thing, "or I'll sleep on the floor."

"Over my dead body."

Sakura raised a glowing hand. "We can arrange that."

Syaoran raised an amulet she knew all too well. "I highly doubt that."

"Syaoran, please…"

"Sakura, please…"

The two of them stared at each other, knowing that this would never lead anywhere conclusive. Then, to Sakura's surprise, Syaoran looked away and sighed.

"Fine, we'll sleep together."

"…Nani?"

Syaoran smiled wickedly. "I believe that I have you there…unless I'm mistaken, I doubt you can sleep on the floor comfortably without practice…so I take the bed, and you have to join me." Smiling, he fell back and burrowed under the comforter.

Sakura just stood there, blinking hard. Then, she turned and walked into the bathroom, coming back out wearing his shirt and taking the second pillow and sheets. She spread them out, eyeing the bed. "Can't sleep on the floor, he says. Well, I'll show him." 

She sat down slowly, wincing as her body complained about relaxing on the hard floor. She shifted once, twice, thrice… Finally giving up, she sat up. Well, if he was right, she wasn't giving him the satisfaction of saying 'I told you so'. At least not right now. Making sure his eyes were closed, she slid beside him, facing the opposite direction.

"I told you so."

Sakura jumped, turning around to see him propping himself up on one arm and smirking. She tried to come up with some smart comeback, but was promptly distracted by the fact that he had, indeed, taken off his shirt and… _damn_… Pouting, she punched him weakly.

"Shaddup." She closed her eyes, turning away. A little while later, just before she fell asleep, she felt arms pull her backwards, surrounding her. She leant her head slightly backwards, snuggling closer to him. Relaxing, she drifted off.

~*~

Sakura knew she was awake, but refused to open her eyes. It was really too comfortable to wake up; her bed was warm and breathing as it held her in its arms… Wait, breathing? She started, and her bed went stiff.

"Ouch."

Sakura nearly screamed, jumping up. "Syaoran! What… where am I?"

"It's the airport room. Remember?"

"Oh. Yeah. What time is it?"

"It's around nine thirty."

"W-we should call Tomoyo. She's bound to be worried."

"Good point."

Sakura watched as he meandered into the bathroom, guilt running through her body. She had slept in the same bed as _Syaoran_. She had _slept_ in the same bed as Syaoran. She had slept in the _same_ bed as Syaoran.

_Boy, I'm a great friend. Hi Ume, I slept in the same bed as your man. Hope you don't mind._

"Blah blah blah, dial 0 for operator… Yes, hello, I'd like to speak to Tomoyo please. Kinomoto Sakura. That's weird-" she looked at him as he came out of the bathroom, "-the lady seemed really rushed. Oh, Tomoyo! Hi!"

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN, HI?! WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN? WE HAVE BEEN OUT OF OUR HEADS WITH WORRY! YOUR BROTHER IS READY TO GO MURDER SOMEONE, AS ARE BOTH OF YOUR GUARDIANS, WHO ARE LYING SEDATED IN THE CELLAR! MY MOTHER HAS CHARTERED EVERY TV STATION, AND WORST OF ALL, I THOUGHT WE MIGHT NOT HAVE OUR PRINCIPLE BRIDESMAID!"

Sakura pulled the phone away from her ear, glancing at the television, and flinched as a small picture of her and Syaoran appeared at the bottom of every channel, along with a small scrolling marquee offering obscene amounts of money for a safe return.

"Tomoyo, we're okay. If you had checked your schedule, you might have realized that you sent me to pick up Syaoran, who teleported himself to your house, so I basically didn't do anything useful, and then I didn't have my wallet so I couldn't get my car back after it got towed and Syaoran burnt himself out trying to get it so we had to rent a small airport hotel room for the night. We. Are. Okay."

There was a sharp exhale from the line. "Good. Why didn't you call my security offices? Oh, never mind. I convinced Sata to go pick you up, so hurry and find her before she decides that she's been away from me for too long and come hurtling back. And don't worry about the car; someone will bring it. You _do_ realise that the wedding is in three days, right? And today all of us are going to our bachelorette party?"

"Yes, Tomoyo."

"THEN HURRY UP!" 

Sakura flinched as the phone slammed down with enough force to shatter cement. "I think that means we go. Now."

A mute nod was her only reply.

~*~

One bachelorette party later (or A Way to Financially Secure Yourself: Take Incriminating Pictures of Rich Heiresses Doing Strange Thing While Drunk), the wedding day had arrived. Or, All Hell Had Broken Loose. Or Some Sort of Mad Traffic Jam with Tomoyo as the Police From Hell.

"We are behind schedule, people! Let's MOVE! Flowers have arrived, Chiharu. Yes, I'm quite sure, for the TWENTY-THIRD time. No, I don't remember where from, but we have flowers, and they have been already placed. Shoo! The speech? How's the speech coming along?"

Sakura rushed forward, harassed. "Everyone has gone over their parts, but we need your part too! We can't practice without your middle section!" 

"It'll be okay, just practice without me. What? What do you mean, we only have one hundred twenty-nine trays of appetizers? I asked for one hundred THIRTY! Where is the chef? Oh, it's you? Where's my last tray? Hmm? HMM?" 

Sakura backed away slowly…

"SAKURA, YOUR HAIR! HAS IT BEEN BRUSHED FIFTY TIMES? IT DOES NOT LOOK LIKE IT! IT ONLY LOOKS LIKE FORTY-THREE! WHERE IS THAT HAIRDRESSER?!"

"Tomoyo, it's okay. No one can tell the difference between forty-three and fifty, and everything will be ready on time. Zettai daijoubu." Sakura breathed a sigh of relief as the area around Tomoyo glowed for a second, calming her down. Then she glanced at her watch, and exploded again. 

"All bridesmaids should be applying foundation in three minutes, and the _principle_ one is standing around, after her hair has only been combed FORTY-THREE TIMES! Come on, people, we have to MOVE! ALLEZ!"

Sakura walked willingly into the official makeup stand, willing to take her chances with the semi-high make up artist… Tomoyo had broken down and started talking in rapid fire French. 

"Ma cherie madamoiselle, it gives me great pleasure to work on your exquisite face! Now, I was thinking maybe a light pastel background, with multi-tone faceted eye crème with touches of gold eye shadow to contrast the lovely shade of your dress. Then we'll move to your eyelashes, and there we'll be dealing with singular, triplet, and full sets of fake eyelashes, each of which gives a separate overall finish. Then I'll brief you on eyebrows, cheeks, lips, shine control, toning, before we send your off to that irresponsible hairdresser to finish your strokes and start with the up curling." The man smiled at her, and Sakura couldn't take it anymore.

"HOOOOEEEEEEEEEE!"

~*~

All in all, it hadn't been bad. After all, she had spent nearly six years of her adolescent life ignoring the fact that some people spent time and money to make themselves look good. So, technically, she deserved it. And it had only been the third time in two months that someone had forced her to endure countless horrors and smeary things on her face. 

Actually, it had been disastrous, ghastly, unnerving, flat-out horrid and a whole list of words she'd rather not say in public any time soon. At one point, Tomoyo had threatened to bring in the bodyguard ladies to forcibly restrain her to her seat after the poor hairdresser messed up the fifty steady combings for the seventh time. And then she had sat back, flattening the precariously perched mound of hair on her head and forcing her to endure torture all over again.

Sakura sighed. In the end, anything and everything became trivial and worth it as the wedding ceremony commenced. She probably would never be able to accomplish all that Tomoyo had done to give Chiharu her dream wedding, and made a mental note to get Tomoyo as her wedding planner.

Despite Tomoyo's panicking, everything went off without a hitch. The flower girls, Chiharu's two nieces, had paraded down the aisle, forgetting to throw flowers, then turned around, nearly sent the ring flying, and went down again. The procession of the bridesmaids and best men was uneventful, besides Eriol holding his not-quite daughter up as she repeatedly fell on her stilettos, despite numerous balancing charms. And then the bride herself… accompanied by the changing of the Escort of the Bride, since no one had been able to determine which of the three Mihara brothers was to accompany their sister.

"And now, ladies and gentlemen, we would like to present a speech prepared by the original students from Tomoeda Elementary School for the Gifted! Please give them a hand, Kinomoto Sakura, Li Syaoran, Hiiragizawa Eriol, Yanagizawa Naoko, Daidouji Tomoyo, and Sasaki-Terada Rika! Chiharu? Why are you going up there?"

Sakura smiled from the stand, clenching her sweaty palms. So many people… She smiled as Eriol started. Wait… 

Eriol wasn't supposed to start.

"Yamazaki, I've been your friend for a long time. Tomoyo, I've been Chiharu's friend too. And I-we don't think it's fair if all of us continue living this lie. Yamazaki, Tomoyo, I love Chiharu, and she loves me." He turned and put a protective arm around Chiharu. 

Sakura covered her mouth with her hand, trying to process what had just happened. Sakura gasped with the audience as Yamazaki stormed up to the front of the stage and punched Eriol in the jaw, and then as Tomoyo turned to Chiharu and just _stared_, out of words for the first time in her life.

"Kami-sama, could this be true? Naoko…" Sakura turned to her friend, bewilderment written on every one of her features.

"Sakura… I think so…" 

Sakura turned to the audience, her face in an expression of horror. The three Mihara brothers were about to storm down the aisle, Yamazaki's grandparents had fainted, Nakuru was blinking furiously, and Spinel had popped out of Nakuru's purse. The only person who didn't seem ruffled was Terada-sensei, who just shook his head, laughing. 

_Matte matte matte matte… is this…_

Rika stepped up to the microphone, smiling. "I'd like to say right now that you've all just witnessed the last official lie by the Tomoeda Elementary class. It was Hiiragizawa and Takashi's idea, or course, so don't be worried by that punch…"

Sakura sweat dropped. "Mou, was I the only one not clued in about this?"

Eriol turned to her, trying hard not to smile. "My dearest Sakura-san, we don't clue you into many things, simply because it will be… better this way. Now, if we can actually give our speech…"

Rika nodded. "Ladies and gentlemen, we are about to begin, so if you could start reviving yourselves and blinking at normal rates, that would be nice… Okay. 

"I've known Chiharu and Yamazaki most of my life. I can honestly say that I have never met a more different couple. They are the perfect example for the age-old saying 'opposites attract'. Well, in this case, opposites attracted for eighteen years as we looked on. For eighteen years, us girls listened to Chiharu moan about Yamazaki, and I'm willing to bet that Yamazaki complained about as much. Or maybe not, he probably was extremely frank, since it took us years and years to get Chiharu to admit her feelings. However, I would put forth all that effort for a second time in a heartbeat. It was worth every second as I see the newlyweds sitting there, in martial bliss. Congratulations."

Syaoran walked up next, nervously unfolding a well-worn piece of paper.

"I can't say that I've known either of these two wonderful people all my life, but I can say that the minute I came in, that day so long ago, both of them took me in as their own immediately. Even though I might not have given the perfect first impression, it didn't matter. Mihara and Yamazaki are both kind, loving people, and I envy their children for being born into such luxury. I," he frowned, looking at his script, "am hardly the master when it comes to relationships, but even I can tell that they will live very happily ever after. Congratulations."

"That was really good." Sakura smiled at him as he came off the platform, shaking.

"Someone changed my script…"

Sakura peeked over, noting the slender, tilted handwriting. "I know that handwriting! That's Tomoyo's!"

"What's she doing, changing my script?"

Sakura shrugged, putting a finger to her lips as Tomoyo took the stage.

"Originally, I had a beautiful and original speech all planned out for this moment, but instead, I decided to do what I do best. Show you one of my videotapes." She made a signal with her hand, and the lights dimmed as a video with TD™ camera angles and TD™ background music started playing.

Sakura smiled as the camera panned and recorded a scene of Chiharu and Yamazaki sitting around a small table shaped like a quarter-circle, a scene of them talking, eating ice cream together… Sakura sighed. It was so obvious that they were made for each other. Their carefree demeanour, endless flirting… 

_Mou, I'm getting all sappy like Ume._ All too soon, the video ended and Sakura found herself clapping with the audience. 

"Wasn't that so sweet? It's so obvious that they're in love, isn't it Sakura?" Tomoyo smiled at her, and Sakura deadpanned,

"O-of course. Any blind fool could see that these two are made for each other, and the video just proves it. Doesn't it, Syaoran?" Sakura turned to him, smiling, and noted with shock the horrified look on his face. "Nani?" she mouthed, and he just shook his head silently, pointing to the screen again. Sakura turned back, confused. It was just a normal scene of Chiharu and Yamazaki dancing, with Yamazaki dipping Chiharu… although it _did_ look somewhat familiar, like déjà vu.

"It's pretty obvious that both of them," Chiharu walked up onto the platform again, "are absolutely right. Marital bliss, ecstatic, these words barely break the tip of the iceberg. Come to think of it, I have absolutely no clue why these speeches even exist. It's simply not possible to describe the feeling of complete happiness that a bride feels on her wedding day," she smiled, and Sakura noted that the speech seemed somewhat planned, and that wasn't right… Tomoyo had sprang the video on them at the last second… 

What was going on? 

"But no, wait. This isn't complete happiness, because I have one thing weighing heavily on my mind. Besides the cliché that I can't be happy unless _all_ of my friends are happy, the fact is that…" She looked out at the audience, her chest rising and falling almost comically, as she said:

"I despise sukiyaki."

Sakura's mouth fell open. _What the...?_

"So the simple fact is, why would I be in a restaurant that specialises in sukiyaki?"

Sakura watched as Chiharu's hand moved in slow motion to the screen, where Chiharu and Yamazaki were morphing right in front of her eyes. Yamazaki was becoming taller, his black hair lengthening and turning brown as his eyes changed from a dark brown to an amber hue… Chiharu's hair was coming out of its curls and falling around her shoulders, lightening as her eyes grew hazel, then green…

And then, right in front of her, Sakura was watching a video of Syaoran and her dancing at Imari. 

She shook her head slowly, not looking at Syaoran as the feeling of déjà vu intensified until she realized that the video of 'Chiharu and Yamazaki' she had just watched, just praised and talked about, was footage of her and Syaoran all throughout the last weekend. And then the video shifted to a scene she knew well. 

Syaoran was reassuring her that he'd always be there for her- 

(_How did she do this?_)

He had her hand in his- 

(_And we look so good together…_) 

And they were leaning closer to each other- 

(_I was so close, I could have still been his friend after all that happened) _

…In the corner of her eye, she could see him slowly stand.

And then she couldn't take it anymore.

She ran out of the hall.

~*~

Sakura sat on her bed, openly sobbing. She heard a knock on the door, and wiped the tears away.

"Go away, I don't want to talk to you, whoever you are." Her voice cracked, wavering between defensive and completely destroyed. 

"Sakura, please just let me come inside and talk to you. I can explain everything-"

"_Go away_, Tomoyo! Haven't you done enough damage for the rest of my life?" 

Sakura immediately felt sorry, but still refused to open the door. She heard a sharp exhale from outside.

"If you honestly feel that way, I won't stop you. I'll be downstairs if…if you need me."

Sakura cringed at the obvious hurt in her voice, but forgot it in a moment. _Does she not get what she's done? It's my worst nightmare brought to life, only two years ahead of time._ Flinging herself onto her pillow, Sakura continued bawling her heart out.

A soft light filled the room, reaching her sore eyes. Sniffling, she sat up, looking around.

"What the…?"

"Sakura-chan…"

Sakura whirled around and nearly fainted as Kinomoto Nadeshiko smiled at her. "'Kaa-san… what are you doing here? And why can I see you?"

"Because I'm on duty for broken hearts, and I simply received you as a charge."

"Well, I'm sorry if you expected me to be all happy to see you, but now's really not the best time to come and tell me that I'll be able to move on. Maybe in an hour?" Sakura hiccoughed, half-horrified that she was speaking like this to her mother and half-irritated that her mother would choose now to visit her. 

Nadeshiko smiled at her, and came forward, enveloping her daughter in what felt like jumping into a pile of warm laundry. Sakura cried a little longer, feeling better already, until she could sit and talk to her mother without breaking into tears every few seconds. In a little while, they were in a heated discussion of the world after death.

"Then what did grandmother do?" Sakura sat back, interested in this person who had somehow raised her mother. She'd never knew, but her mother was quite the floor performer.

"Well, 'kaa-san was all extremely angry because she couldn't visit you like I could, and I told her that if she did, Touya-kun would probably find some way of banishing her. He never liked her much… after all, she was the only one who openly disliked him, and he just, well, bounced it back." Nadeshiko smiled at her daughter, who looked confused.

"How can you be so nice to her, after all she did? I mean, respect for the dead aside – you're dead too – she was so mean!"

"Sakura-chan, have you not understood even this by now? Anger and grudges aren't worth the pain that they give the one who holds them. Mou," she glanced at the sky, looking like her daughter, "all those good angel lessons are washing off onto me after all these years. You know very well that no man will come between you and Tomoyo, not even the one that you love."

Sakura looked away before she spoke. "Please, not you too. I don't like him. He likes someone else, and I've levelled with myself."

"You can fool your mind, but never your heart."

"I. Will. Not. Like. Li. Syaoran."

"Just admit it for me."

"Admit what?"

"Please, Sakura?"

Sakura looked at her mother. "What good will that do?"

"You need him, admit it. He's your best friend in an entirely different way than Tomoyo, and you need him. Matters of the heart should not be kept a secret, least of all to an otomodachi."

Sakura stared at her mother for a long, hard second. Then, she exhaled and said, "Fine. Fine to all of you. Yes, I know that great-grandfather and the rest of you are staring at me. I love Li Syaoran, I've loved him ever since… Well, I suppose ever since he accepted me as his friend, all those years ago. I love him. And I suppose I always will. Is that good enough?" Sakura turned to her mother.

"It will be," she replied, waving her hand and disappearing as Sakura heard a small *click* behind her. Slowly, ever so slowly, she turned around, knowing what she'd find behind her. Clamping her lips shut, she made a weak motion with her hand to come in.

She knew he was there, right behind her, and she found herself counting blinks to keep composed.

One…

Two…

Three…

Interesting, the minute you concentrated on your blinking, you became complete master of the frequency. 

"Ano-"

"I want-"

Sakura stopped, still facing the other direction. "Iie, you go first." 

_Please don't ask me, please don't ask me..._

"Sakura, I… actually, I wanted to… didyoumeanwhatyoujustsaid?"

"Nani?" It was all she could do to stay in one piece.

"Did… did you mean what you just said?"

Sakura looked down, unable to meet the question in his eyes.

_"_…_Worst of all Syaoran still not knowing exactly where he'll continue med school… I'm scared, Kero, I can't work alone_…"

_"Sakura, get over it and admit Li likes you, and you like him_… _and that you've liked each other since sixth grade!"_

_Syaoran, shaking his head silently and watching the screen in horror._

_"Matters of the heart should not be kept secret, least of all to an otomodachi."_

_Otomodachi_…

_Otomodachi_…

"Otomodachi," Sakura began, her voice picking up volume and strength, "you _are_ my otomodachi. And I can't keep lying to you or myself any longer. Li Syaoran, I love you. Always have, and… maybe even always will. I don't want you to think that you have to love me back, because I know you don't, and I know you like Ume, but I need to tell you. And… now I have." Sakura stood up and made her way to the door when Syaoran spoke up.

"You're bloody dumb."

Sakura spun around, tears filling her eyes. _After all this that_…_after I just honestly told him how I feel_…_how could he? How could he?_

"You absolute thick moron. How could you think, for even a split second, that I could ever, in this or any other lifetime," he stood up, the expression on his face unreadable, "how could you ever think I could like Ume?"

Sakura felt as if the world were handing her a chance, and it was just there, right beyond her reach… If she could just grab it… "You stayed by her side all the time when she got hurt, even though you knew I was injured more." She felt silly, as if she were accusing him of taking the last piece of cake.

"Well, excuse me. Not only was she the first person I saw fall, but also she doesn't have an auto-healing mechanism like you do. And… how do you know I was watching her? Ask Tomoyo or Eriol, I was… well, it sounds stupid now."

Sakura gulped and shook her head. "You like Ume. You said the girl you liked had brown hair and expressive eyes and a nice personality and-"

And what, she didn't know, because all she knew right now was that he had bent down and his lips were on hers, and she was actually kissing him, and he was kissing her back… Damn to whatever Dear Koi-chan had thought, this was heaven…

She broke away with a slight shudder, her eyes still closed. "I'm…I'm dreaming. Pinch me. Ow! I'm not dreaming." Sakura smiled, a true smile, for the first time in a while. 

"Sakura… I love you too. I always have. And I suppose I always will." He smiled, bending down again when he was interrupted by a huge whoop from outside. Frowning, he waved at the door, which opened, spilling a whole crowd of people onto the floor. "What the hell…?"

Tomoyo looked up from the bottom of the heap, grinning weakly as she held up her camera. "Ano… congrats?" She might have continued, if someone hadn't exploded.

"Onii-chan! Yukito! Even Terada-sensei! Chiharu, Yamazaki, Rika – be careful of the baby –, Nakuru, Naoko, 'tou-san," she eyed two stuffed toys hanging out of her father's pockets, "Tomoyo, Eriol, and the rest of you… get out! Out! Out! All of you! NOW!"

With surprising meekness and speed, every single one of them managed to untangle him/herself and scramble down the stairs, until the hallway was clear and Sakura had stopped seething. When the door had closed to blissful peace, she spun around, smiling.

"Now where were we?"

~*~ Epilogue ~*~

(*a few hours later*)

"So… _so_… so… I _dare_ any of you to say what." 

Sakura paced in front of a gathering of people, spinning a small chain with a pendent that was making half of them very nervous, and the other half nervous because the other half was nervous. 

"We're very sorry, Sakura-chan." Rika was the only one that seemed mildly calm. 

"Oh, it's okay for you, you have your little one…" She glared at the rest of them, "but you are not getting let off."

"But Sakura-sama-"

"Don't 'Sakura-sama' me. Why were you all here? Let me guess… Tomoyo came up with this idea, made all of you agree to come, and videotaped me all throughout my first term of junior year."

*Mute nods*

"And then you all were basically here to see me embarrass myself?"

*Slower mute nods*

"Do you have anything to say for yourself?"

*Nods accompanied by smiles*

Sakura watched them suspiciously. She knew Tomoyo and Eriol too well; they had probably anticipated this and arranged something… 

"Well then, say it…"

"Nyahh! It worked!" 

The whole lot of them laughed, gradually dispersing as Sakura started to stamp her feet in irritation.

"They always get the better of me, no matter what I do… I will get them-mmm." She stopped, as Syaoran came behind her and grabbed her by the waist, put his arms around her and whispered in her ear, "Oh, let it be. We do owe them a favour, you know. In the meanwhile, there's a nice spot in the park where you can watch the sun set…"

She was about to agree when a very loud voice interrupted.

"OI, GAKI, GET YOUR FILTHY HANDS OFF MY IMOUTO!" Touya strode forward and picked up Syaoran by his collar, showing off his seven extra years of working out. That was, until, "Itai! Why'd you do that?"

"'Nii-chan, get a life." Smirking, she grabbed a stunned Syaoran by the arm and dragged him off.

~*~ 

Sakura sat in front of her computer, answering her letters for a change as the hands played ping-pong with each other. She scrolled through her inbox, searching, searching, searching…

"Ah-hah! The last one!" Sitting back, she started reading Syaoran's last letter to Tomoyo, who was sitting in a corner reading. 

"'Dear Koi-chan. Success! Well, actually I didn't do anything, it was all my friends… Still, I finally told her, and that's the important thing. You were absolutely right; she did think I liked someone else. I have to admit, the evidence against me was incriminating since I never talked to her.' Oh, Tomoyo, that reminds me. Syaoran said something about that night that I got attacked? He was doing or not doing something?"

Her friend chuckled, still reading. "Sakura, although you saw differently, Syaoran actually stayed up most of the whole night by your side, giving you bursts of magic every now and then, even though it was clear – even to _me_ – that you didn't need it. I suppose the first time he left your side was just before the both of you got up, because I called him to make sure he went to bed at some point. There, I bet you feel like a right idiot now, don't you? Always glad I could help."

Sakura scowled at her friend, then continued reading. "'You're a gem, Koi-chan, and I don't know how to thank you. Maybe I could take you out for dinner, or mail you something ridiculously expensive? I can't thank you enough'. And then about a paragraph of differently worded 'thank yous'."

"Oh, get the ridiculously expensive thing."

"Tomoyo! No, hear this. Ano… 'I'm glad to hear about your gain, and I'm happy to have helped…' some cheesy advice on birthdays and anniversaries-"

"-Make sure to put in that expensive gifts are nice-"

"What is it with you and expensive gifts? Never mind, just feel the sap on this one: 'I don't want anything, it's enough for me that you've found true love'."

"Sakura, you are becoming dangerously romantic."

"Speaking of romantic, I have a dinner date…" She turned off the PC and twirled out of the room, humming to herself.

"Dinner date? Did I hear you correctly?"

Sakura groaned, knowing what would come next.

"Clothes!"

*THUD*

~* The End *~ 

A/N: Wow…it's finished. Don't blame my beta, this has been finished almost a week, I just kept forgetting to update it. But now it's up, and I want some reviews. 

Thank yous:

**SweetCherryBlossom** – thank you for your review! Nice to know someone appreciates the plot as much as the characters!

**KawaiinessPnay** – I'd love to know what your name means at some point. Yay, you reviewed a lot! I hope you understood about the dress…

**Amazonian Anime Queen** – my betaed. Keep writing!

**Naima** – you even have me on your favourite author's list! I'm so touched!

**Semmerie** – you too! Continue writing, I want to see which one (of Firey and Watery) wins!

**lonewolf 00** – you don't have a ff.net profile, so I can't review you back! Thanks for reading anyhoos.

-AND-

My beta, **Chen Marie Derige**, who has been awesome all through this. My writing is a hundredfold better for her advice and patient beta-ing, and I am eternally grateful. Oh, and for convincing me that everyone needs a beta. That quote is sheer brilliance; I think I'm going to steal it.

Thanks again to anyone who reviewed! Until next time (which will be soon),

wicherwill ^_^


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